#im running on an iced coffee and a muffin

[mx-legend-of-faye]

So I had a thought…

The chain gets sent to Wild’s hyrule for the very time. Like the typical chain meets Wild stuff, but it’s post totk. Not only is it post totk, but the portal doesn’t drop them on the surface, no, it drops them in the depths.

So now you’ve got the chain—minus Wild who they haven’t met just yet—quite literally in the dark about this new hyrule, and they aren’t aware that the depths aren’t all there is to this hyrule because how could they be? So they’re all wondering what in the hell happened there.

Meanwhile, up on the surface, Wild is at lookout landing talking with Josha who heard there was something weird going on in the depths and wants Wild to go check it out. Wild being Wild, she agrees. There’s the thought that maybe the yiga are back to their usual antics of causing trouble, so they may as well go check it out just in case.

…that’s about where my thought ended. I didn’t think too far ahead. I’m basically running on a large iced coffee and a chocolate muffin. Something something the chain meets Wild down in the depths when Wild saves them from gloom hands or a lynel. Cue Wild helping them out of the depths, and then officially joining the chain and whatnot because yeah.

[stillagoodwitch]

booo my friends aren’t here yet i’m sooo bored

[peqchsoup]

omg joel calling reader princess and pumpkin made me giggled so hard wtf. JEJDJDJD but like idk why mean joel just gets me like just the idea of him being this grumpy guy but being such a softy for the reader😭 could u maybe do sumn with taylor swift’s I can see you? reader has a crush on joel, always looking at him, making up scenarios, and he’d always see this girl staring at him , smiling to herself FAWK 😭😭😭

hi anon, thank you for requesting!! honestly, I got this request so long ago and started writing this, but had so little motivation bc of mental health and the likes, but I went on a lil rampage and got this finished in like an hour ngl, im not a swiftie so I had a lot of back and forth looking at the lyrics to this song to see how I could incorporate them, so I hope I've done you proud! anyway, here it is and, as always, requests are open <3 no, this has not been proofread :)

I Can See You

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

You tap aggressively at your phone to turn off your alarm.You run through your Monday morning routine of groaning in bed at the thought of having to see Joel Miller after you spent all weekend trying not to think about him.

Being the receptionist at Miller Contracting had its pros and its cons. 

Pros:

Good salary

Free coffee all day 

Staring at Joel Miller

Cons:

Joel Miller didn’t like you

He was always polite enough when he walked in with Tommy, but he didn’t take nearly as much of a liking to you as his brother did. Tommy always turned on the charm, brought you coffee and breakfast bagels while Joel nodded in your direction before breezing past. And somehow, you were infatuated with him. You would sit behind the desk day in, day out, daydreaming about all of the things Joel Miller could do to you. 

You would watch him come to the front desk to greet the more high profile clients and would sneak a glance while he shook hands with them so you could see strong fingers with veins along the back of his hand running to his wrist. You would then watch him through the glass of the boardroom, pointing to his presentation or twiddling a pen between his fingers while he spoke. 

You used that material to picture his hands all over you. You daydreamed about his hands starting in your hair, brushing it out of the way of your face before Joel drags them down your sides and to your waist. You thought about his bruising touch on the soft flesh at the tops of your thighs, picturing how they would look while pushing your legs open and parting your slick folds.

You groaned at your second alarm blaring in your ear, getting up and mindlessly following your daily morning routine. You had done it so many times that you were out of the door within 20 minutes. 

Your Monday morning was just like every morning: drive to work, open up the office, turn on the lights, turn on the coffee machines, sit at the front desk, check the calendar, and try not to think about Joel Miller. You had accomplished almost all of these things. All but one. 

You sat fantasising again, wondering which of the brothers was driving to work today. You thought of Joel’s hands gripping the wheel and how his brow would be furrowed slightly while he was concentrating. You thought of Joel’s other hand resting on his denim-clad thigh. You thought of how his eyes would flicker to the rear view mirror and how, if you were sitting in the back, he would constantly glance at you and mentally undress you. You thought-

“Mornin’ Sunshine!” 

Tommy’s voice boomed through the office and had you scrambling to make it look like you were busy. 

“Morning Tommy. Joel.” You looked to the older brother who nodded and threw you a tight-lipped smile. You looked back to Tommy who was holding up a brown bag and an iced latte. 

“Iced vanilla latte and a breakfast muffin for my best girl.” Tommy placed the items down and winked at you. You thanked him before he moved on towards the boardroom to prepare for their pitch. 

When you first started at the company, you thought Tommy was trying to make a move on you. You were awkward and didn’t know what to say when he brought you things. But, over time, you learned that he was looking out for you in a big brother sense. You were there from the beginning, seeing the office become a reality, and had become like a little sister to Tommy. He always asked how things were at home, if you had a pet yet and even asked if you had any dates (with the added bonus of comforting you when you went through disaster after disaster).

Joel followed his brother into the room and let the door click shut. Your eyes followed his movements; shrugging off his jacket to reveal the “Miller Contracting” t-shirt he was wearing that grew taught over flexing biceps. Your eyes traced up his broad shoulders to where you could see his profile. Tan skin met a dark beard that was always well taken care of. You followed his nose from the tip up to the bridge where you found chocolate brown eyes that you could get lost in, and did get lost in every time he was explaining something to you. 

The same chocolate eyes that were now looking right back into yours. 

You jumped and reached up to grab your breakfast from the counter Tommy left them on. You stared down at your breakfast with laser focus the entire time you ate it and, when you finished, you continued to keep your gaze downward by busing yourself on your computer. 

You didn’t look up for a single second until it was time to greet the new clients. You gave them their visitor passes and walked them to the boardroom where Joel and Tommy stood to shake their hands and get them seated. You turned to leave before Tommy whispered your name and pulled you to one side. 

“This could be a huge project for us, could you take some notes for us?” Tommy looked at you with his puppy-dog eyes even though he knew you would do anything to help out. 

“Of course, let me grab my stuff.” 

And that’s how you ended up spending all day with Joel Miller. Whenever there was a break or Tommy was sketching something on the whiteboard, you stole glances at Joel. Your eyes traced his jaw where it met his fists to rest his head on. You looked at his hair and how it was starting to curl up on the ends, waiting to be cut off. What you didn’t notice was the way Joel stared back. You were so fixated on his features that you didn’t catch his own wandering eyes.

-------------------

The day-long meeting concluded with handshakes and smiles as Joel and Tommy settled their biggest deal yet. You wanted to let the brothers celebrate their new project, so you returned to the front desk where you began to type up the notes that you had taken. 

Joel was, for lack of a better term, a bit of a grump. He was courteous with clients, of course, but generally around the office and in his own private office, he kept to himself. You had never seen him crack a smile unless a client was in front of him. Seeing that smile in action had a blush creeping up your neck.

Not long after you returned to your desk, Tommy swung the boardroom door open, followed by the grinning clients who were all beginning to remove their visitor passes. You began to sign them out when Tommy called your name.

“Hey, Joel’s staying to do the paperwork but I’m taking these guys out for dinner if you wanna join? Joel can lock up.” 

Your eyes flicked to the boardroom behind Tommy where you could see Joel with a stack of paper. Feeling your stare, Joel’s eyes shot up to meet yours. You felt your face begin to heat again and turned back to look at a hopeful Tommy.

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll stay. I’ve gotta finish these notes and I wouldn’t feel right leaving Joel here alone.” 

Tommy turned to the clients standing behind him, pointing his thumb at you over his shoulder.

“Didn’t I say she was the best?” 

The clients nodded and chuckled along with Tommy and, with a final ‘Goodnight’, the group of men left. It was just you at your desk and Joel in the boardroom. 

----------------------

You desperately tried to focus on your work, ignoring everything in your brain telling you to look at Joel and watch him. Thoughts of him flooded your mind. The way his brows furrowed and he rubbed his beard when he was concentrating. When Tommy cracks a cheesy joke and gets a huff out of his older brother.

Deciding you were too distracted to get work done, you decided that a cup of coffee was the perfect thing to get your head together. 

You wandered along to the kitchen where you met an empty pot of coffee. Being slightly annoyed but getting on with it, you started getting another pot ready. You pulled the pot out of the machine and gave it a rinse. Throwing out the filter was next, but when you went to grab a new one, they had been pushed to the back of the top shelf of the cupboard.

You reached up on your tiptoes, leaning your hips against the countertop to try to balance yourself. But to no avail, you just couldn’t reach. On your last attempt, you felt a warm body press against yours, a tanned arm reaching past your head and then a hand moving past your own and grabbing the box of filters. 

You flipped around at top speed, coming face to chest with Joel himself. He retracted his arm and set the box of filters in your hands. Speechless, you took a filter out of the box and set it in the plastic coffee filter that fitted onto the pot. Joel watched you in silence while you filled the filter with coffee with a shaky hand. Your chest was heaving and you were trying to calm the raging blush creeping up your neck.

The coffee pot was set to work and you turned around to grab a mug, only for Joel to stop your arm mid-reach and spin you back round so your back was pressed against the countertop.

His eyes were hooded, his gaze low. 

“I can see you, you know.”

Your eyes darted from his eyes to his mouth, where his tongue ran across his lips. You opened your mouth but couldn’t form a single word. 

“I see you waitin’ down the hall for me. I’ve been watchin’ you for ages. I tried to ignore you at first. I kept everything professional, but now something’s changing.”

Joel’s hands came up to rest on either cheek.

“Now, you won’t believe half the things I see inside my head. I can see you up against the wall with me. I can see you being my addiction.”

You were struggling to comprehend the words he was saying; they were coming out before your brain had time to register them. 

One of Joel’s hands reached around to tangle in your hair at the back of your head. He leaned in for a tentative kiss. Your lips pressed against his and, in that instant, your hands flew up to meet at the back of his head, pulling him closer and harder against you. 

He took that as his signal to deepen the kiss, becoming almost rough with you. His hands moved to your waist to lift you up onto the counter. Instinctively, you hopped with his lift and wrapped your legs around his hips.

His hands grabbed at the flesh of your thighs and kneaded the tender skin. He was everywhere all at once and suddenly, he wasn’t.

Joel pulled away and left the kitchen. You were left sitting flustered on the counter. Hopping down, you decided that you should forget the coffee and just go home to sit and overthink the entire situation. 

You went back to your desk and grabbed your bag, taking a risky glance at the, now empty, boardroom. Trying to shake away the disappointment starting to bloom in your chest, you reached to grab your keys and found a sticky note with an address and a small note underneath. 

“Meet me tonight.”

[equallyshaw]

all in a days work, feat. willy nylander.

Warnings: none.

Word Count: 1.6k +

Just a cute blurb!

────────────

Fanny had never ever, watched a single hockey game in her life; due to the fact that she was from California where hockey was still not very popular. Even more so, her family never watched it so she had never been interested in watching it. That was why her boss at Saturday Night (Defunct Canadian Magazine), decided she would be the perfect fit. She’d hopefully be able to get a bigger scope outside of hockey, and it might make the interviewee more comfortable. Fanny had only been at the magazine for three months as a guest editor, after leaving The New Yorker and LeFlair Magazine in California. Nevertheless, here she was now sitting inside a boutique-esque, very Toronto townhouse.

She smiled at the two pups that were bringing her toys, and vying for her attention. Which she adored. “Pablo!” William called over, before whistling. The two pups both ran over to where he was calling, and the two ran back out with two chew sticks, each going into opposite ends of the room. “Little one, still doesn’t understand that his name is not Pablo but here we are.” He mused, bringing out a cup of two shots of expresso with half and half, and some brown sugar. “Thank you, so much! My golden did not understand that her name wasn’t my lab’s name. It takes a while, unfortunately.” She said taking the one cup, and instantly blowing on it to cool it down a bit. William laughed at the sentiment she just shared and nodded. “So, where do you want to begin?” He asked sitting down on the couch across from her. “Where to begin, where to begin.” She joked, crossing one leg over the other. She looked down at her notes, before looking back at William. “How would you describe yourself to somebody that has never watched hockey, does not know you have two cute pups, are from Sweden, and are blonde? What would you say?” He laughed at the question, running a hand through his very blonde hair. He smiled, “I would say I am a dog dad, lover of books which many people would never imagine that I do, I love watching some good tv shows, a movie here and there, uh..im a huge baker. Brownies? I gotchu covered. Muffins? Oh yeah. (Editors Note: very Canadian pronunciation) Chocolate chip cookies? Eh. I’m still working on those.” He paused as they both laughed. “Okay good, I know what not to ask for.” She mused, pointing her iPad pencil toward him. “I’m a huge family person, I don’t go a day without talking to my family in our group chat. Another thing is that I love some good expresso, fantastic little-known coffee shops, and early Sunday morning walks in the park.” He added and she nodded, giving him a small smile. “Go to coffee order?” She quirked, “Right answers only.” She added quickly, making him smile. A genuine smile, that was reserved for those closest to him.

“Ouu, maybe an iced americano or cold brew. Sometimes ill get a latte with oat milk- it depends.” He answered, “Though on game days it would be a small cold brew for sure. Plain, so no upset tummies.” He quickly added, she grinned. She nodded, “I’m glad you said that, I was about to ask about that. Are you a more coffee-at-home guy on game days or a go-out type of guy? I would assume how you feel that day if you don’t have a ‘superstition’.” She responded. “Oh yeah, I don’t have that with coffee. As you said, it depends on the day and how I’m feeling, when the game is, etc.” She quickly wrote that down on her iPad. “Superstition? Eh, I guess you’ve heard a bit about hockey then?” He quirked, thinking about the information that he got in an email from the magazine. She softly smiled, “My brother is a soccer player, so I imagine superstitions are universal if I’m correct?” She asked for clarity, to which William nodded. “You’d be right about that.” he responded. “Fanny, what would you say about a walk with the pups?” He questioned. She was taken by surprise and went to respond but she closed her mouth quickly. She then smiled and nodded. “That’d be lovely.”

The two walked through High Park, taking in all the sights and sounds. He was relatively left alone, only receiving a smile or nod here and there. William commented on that, being thankful for nobody fussing over him. "Have you ever been here?" He asked, and she shook her head no. "Nah, I've only been here two months but most of that has been spent in the office or at home doing more work." She sighed, sipping some of her water. He nodded, "Well over there you've got Hillside Gardens, which as you can see is the big Canadian leaf." He pointed as the two got closer, and she smiled. "Its gigantic!" She exclaimed, pulling out her phone to take a picture. William smiled as he watched her giddy as she took a photo. "Next we should head to the dog off-leash area." and so they did, watching the two pups run around with some other dogs for about 20 minutes. The two laughed with one another, watching the pups, interacting with other dogs and owners, etc. Next, the two went onto the Spring Creek, nature trail. The trail walk took about 2 hours later and the two were ready to get something to eat. So Wiliam took Fanny and the two pups to a local cafe a few blocks form the park, called Gasper Cafe which had some outdoor seating for them.

They spent the next hour continuing to cheat, before heading back to his place. He even took a photo of her while she took one of him, though he said he needed it for his 'be real', while she wanted a behind the scenes picture. Once they were back at his townhouse, she grabbed her things, and he walked her out. She had enjoyed interviewing him and was brewing with ideas about the story, she was going to be writing as soon as she left. “Thank you, William, for allowing me to interview you.” She said as they walked down the front steps to her car parked in front, “I am very excited to get this to my editor as soon as I can, and then your agent will get a copy for y’all to review.” She said stopping to properly look at him. “Oh great! Looking forward to hearing from you.” He smiled, and she nodded. “Have a great one!” She said before walking around to her driver’s side and hopping in. He stood there until she drove off, and as she turned the corner, he knew that he wanted to see her again; outside of the interview.

It was two months later, in early March when they were at the launch party at Soho Toronto. She walked into the private but grand room and looked for her editor. She found him and William together. They posed for pictures as she strolled up, and then once William noticed her, he could not stop looking at her. She turned real quick to greet a coworker and then went to say hi to her editor. She then turn towards William looking dash as ever, and they greeted one another, placing a kiss on each cheek. (like europeans do lol) “You excited?” She asked, taking a fluke of champagne from a tray nearby. He nodded, “Are you? Your editor explained to me that this is your first official piece of being a full-time writer and editor?” He asked moving closer to her, so it was only her that heard it. She nodded, looking back up at him. “Yes! I hope the readers enjoy it. I put a lotta labor of love into it.” She beamed, sipping some of the drink. “I already know I’ll love it.” He grinned, placing a hand on the middle of her back. She nodded, smiling widely. The two spoke for what seemed like hours, but 20 minutes later, she and William were being called for photo ops in front of the magazine cover. William was entranced by her confidence, which was only blossoming. She looked towards William for a brief second, and then back to the cameras.

About an hour later, Fanny stood up on stage, with a microphone in hand, and thanked the people that came for coming and introducing William himself to do a small interview on stage. She smiled, watching him come up, he took ahold of the extra microphone she handed him. Their fingers brushed on another's, but she quickly dismissed it throwing a joke at the blonde. The crowd and he laughed, feeling at ease. And no one could deny the look in William's eyes the whole interview, one's filled with wonder and excitement for the brunette.

It was around midnight when the two decided to walk the streets of Toronto back to her apartment, 2 miles away. The two walked hand in hand, a bit tipsy on both ends and high on life right now. The two honestly, could not get enough of each other. They laughed, they cringed, they cheered, and learned more and more about one another. The two finally made it back to her place, and he smiled down at her, preparing to say goodnight and walk back to his place. Yet, fate had other plans. “Um..you totally don’t have to, but would you like to come upstairs?” She questioned, hoping the bellman was not listening in on the conversation. William nodded, smiling and took Fanny’s hand in his, and followed her lead. As soon as they got into the elevator, the two were on their phones texting their whereabouts, etc, to a few at the party. “Wanna take an Insta story?” She questioned, and he nodded grinning. She took one for her’s without his face, and one for his without hers. The elevator door dinged, and the two got off and walked toward the opposite end. “Oh, forgot to say but I have a cat.” She said whipping around, “And their name is?” He questioned and she smiled. “Her name is Cleo, and I know she’ll love you.” She beamed, flashing her keycard and the door opened. Cleo appeared almost instantly, greeting her human and vying for her attention. Then she saw William and instantly rubbed up against him. She smiled as he kneeled down to pet her, and after a few seconds, Fanny took off her shoes and set her purse down next to her. “Would you like anything to drink? Water?” She asked going to grab some for herself. He nodded and thanked her. She handed it to him, “Do you mind if I change into something more comfortable?” She asked and William waved her off. She came out ten minutes later, to find William on the couch, with Cleo on his chest while he watched TikTok. She smiled, snapping a quick pic. She sat down next to him, and she heard Cleo’s purring. Fanny and William smiled at the same time, as she started. “I think it’s safe to say, she likes you.” Fanny grinned, “Well it’s a good thing I like her mom.” William responded.

_

@fannyy: all in a days work :)

Location: sohoToronto.

99.9k likes, 12.3k comments.

||

@fannyseditor: congrats mon amour, so grateful to have you on my team 🫶🏻

↳ @fannyy: merci beaucoup!!! 🤍

@alexnylqnder: sick expose !

↳ @fannyy: Thankyou stranger 🫡

↳ @hockeyfan1: OMG THATS HIS BROTHER

@hockeyfan2: such a good story!! Go leafs !

@justinbieber: Willy style 🤝🏻

↳ @fannyy: 😇😇

@williamnylander: had a fantastic time! Thankyou (:

↳ @fannyy: ofc!

@saturdaynigjt: big congrats in order for our girl, so happy you’re in the 6 with us!

↳ @fannyy: no place I’d rather be !

@torontomapleleafs: glad you got his good side 😉😉

↳ @williamnylander: EVERY side is a good side 😌

↳ @fannyy: lolol

@fannyysisters: cutie pie so proud of you

↳ @fannyy: love you!! miss u

@ fanny'sbrother: this is sick

↳ @williamnylander: hey bro, heard im your fave hockey player

↳ @fannyy: the only hockey player he knows...

↳ @williamnylander: im gonna disregard that comment

↳ @fannyysbrother: lololol

||

@williamnylander: its out, tell all your friends!

tags: fannyy & saturdaynightmagazine

123k likes, 21.7k comments.

—

2 months later.

@williamnylander: recents w willy styles.

tag: fannyy

Location: san diego

124.7k likes, 22.8k comments.

||

@alexnylander: that damn sushi

@austonmatthews: woah. not the sushi bro

↳ @hockeyfan3: OMG we are not having a repeat of food poisoning

↳ @williamnylander @austonmatthews: its ok! it is a new place

↳ @fannyy: more reason to be nervous lolol

↳ @Williamnylander: oh shush

@fannyy: meiomi. we love a good California wine :)

↳ @hockeyfan4: WAIT -- DID YOU GET HIM IT??

↳ @hockeyfan5: DID U?!?!?!

↳ @Williamnylander: @fannyy it was delicious, though you know that

↳ @hockey6: ITS CONFIRMED !!!!

↳ @hockey6: THAT WAS HIM IN HER INSTA

@hockeyfan7: doing my daily loop and omg that's fannyy from the magazine who interviewed him!!!!

↳ @hockey6: it def it

@fannyy'ssister: awe

↳ @fannyy: oh hi

↳ @fannyy: bahaha hi

↳ @williamnylander: sup

@mitchmarner: willy with the sushiii

@kappy: oh baby that dinner looks delish

@fannysbrother: no shirt? put on a shirt lmao

↳ @williamnylander: lol 🫡

||

@fannyy: so grateful for a few weeks at home.

location: san diego

tag: williamnylander

235k likes, 23.9k comments.

||

@fannysbrother: Aztecs forever

↳ @fannyy: ROLL TIDE🤝🏻

@fannysmom: so glad to have you two home for some sunshine!

↳ @williamnylander: thankyou for having me, I couldn't have asked for a better time !

↳ @fannyy: aweee mama, im calling u rn

↳ @fannysmom: @williamnylander ofc hun! see you soon!

@fannyssister: disney princess has returned

↳ @fannyy: oh u know it

@alexnylander: still not over u two not inviting me

↳ @williamnylander: cry me a river

↳ @fannyy: bahaha next time alex!

@austonmatthews: heaven on earth

↳ @fannyy: so glad u could make it for a weekend!

@mitchmarner: 😎😎

@sdsuaztecs: so glad we could be apart of your visit back to the college of Journalism! we were very happy to welcome you home, #Aztecsforever

↳ @fannyy: love you all forever! thankyou for allowing me to talk to some wonderful students !

@williamsmom: so cute! glad you both had fun

↳ @fannyy: we did! you raised a gem :)

↳ @williamsmom: I expect nothing less 🤍

@fannysbestfriend: so glad you guys came out, William is one of us now 🥺

↳ @fannysotherbestfriend: oh hell yeah

↳ @fannysguybestfriend: forever bros 🌊

↳ @williamnylander: @fannysguybestfriend: bros 🌊🤝🏻

||

[iudiex]

𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞  𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 ,   (   season  edition  !   )        *  repost  ,  don’t  reblog  .  bold  ;  always  applies  .  italicise  ;  sometimes  applies  . tagged by : @abyssin ily tea light of my life tagging : @wulvend and/or @dvouring , @caelune , @omencome , @heirdew (for aoife or argenti?) , @kikun , @supportingfire , @piercingdark , @baishouqijia , @bianshu , @raikuro , @chthonine listen if you've already been tagged im sorry

𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑹. —  cold  drinks  after  a  long  day  ,  hiking  in  the  woods  just  outside  the  city  ,  swimming  in  a  lake  ,  spontaneous  picnics  ,  the  warmth  of  the  sun  making  you  drowsy  ,  the  buzz  of  insects  flying  by  ,  blooming  wildflowers  ,  the  scent  of  bark  and  leaves  ,  snapping  twigs  in  half  ,  a  blade  of  grass  between  your  teeth,  light  sunburn  on  the  tip  of  your  nose  ,  barking  dogs  ,  rosy  cheeks  ,  children  laughing  in  the  distance  ,  sunflowers  reaching  for  the  sun  ,  fresh  ice  tea  ,  resting  your  head  on  someone’s   lap  ,  warm  yellow  ,  the  sound  of  waves  crashing  .

𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑼𝑴𝑵.  —  cool  breezes  that  feel  just  right  ,  piles  of  leaves  , rust  red  ,  oversized  sweaters  ,  knitted  blankets  ,  pumpkin  spice ,  the  scent  of  freshly  baked  goods  ,  open  windows  letting  the  fresh  air  in  ,  cold  cheeks  and  hands  ,  rain  boots  ,  carving  pumpkins  ,  soft  scarves  ,  a  comforting  embrace  from  an  old  friend  ,  the  scent  right  before  a  storm  ,  wild  mushrooms  ,  ripening  berries  ,  a  cup  of  hot  tea  , purring  cats ,  blueberry  muffins  ,  braided  hair  , wearing  your  partner’s  shirts  ,  an  alarm  pulling  you  from  slumber  ,  burning  candles  .

𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹.  —  the  crackling  of  a  fireplace  ,  hot  chocolate  with  marshmallows  ,  the  smell  of  fresh  cookies  ,  fuzzy  socks  ,  beanies  pulled  over  your  ears ,  a  strong  pot  of  coffee  ,  dark  clouds  gathering  on  the  horizon  ,  the  sound  of  wind  shaking  the  house  ,  melting  ice  ,  snowflakes  in  your  hair ,  melancholy  afternoons  ,  curling  up  with  a  book  while  the  world  stands  still  ,  cough  drops  on  the  nightstand  ,  excitedly  giving  gifts  ,  long  coats  with  deep  pockets  ,  pale  blues  ,  flour  on  the  tip  of  your  nose  ,  warm  soup  ,  stubble  turning  into  a  beard  ,  the  scent  of  leather  .

𝑺𝑷𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮.  —  the  smell  after  it  rains  ,  waking  to  the  sound  of  birds  singing  ,  the  crack  of  thunder  ,  soft  pinks  ,  energy  drinks  or  protein  shakes  ,  the  scent  of  fabric  softener  ,   tidying  up  , the  sweet  taste  of  fresh  fruit  ,  competitive  spark  in  eyes  ,  sand  beneath  your  feet  ,  sweat  on  your  brow  ,  catching  your  breath  after  running  ,  light  green  ,  frosted  cupcakes  ,  electricity  in  the  air  ,  forbidden  kisses  ,  the  sharp  hunger  after  a  work  out  ,  daring  romances  ,  high  ponytails  ,  unexpected  storms  ,  picking  flowers  ,  running  barefoot  in  the  grass ,  iced  coffee  .

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

So, what does a Teen Advisory Group DO, anyway?

The short answer is that a TAG does whatever the YA librarian needs done at that moment. TAG members can help to create virtual displays, book reviews, or other social media content. If library staff need to spend their funds on stuff like craft supplies or snacks to share during programs, they can ask the TAG for suggestions so that they'll spend those funds on things that teenagers actually want.

The way I ran my TAG shifted when we moved from an in-person to a virtual program several years ago. While I do miss having this program in person, I will say that one kind of participation improved in the virtual space. That's when I need to spend my YA funds on something, I share my screen so everyone can see all the choices we've got, I scroll through the options slowly and ask questions, and our teens type a running commentary in the chat. THEN I save that chat so that when I do my shopping, I can incorporate their suggestions!

At yesterday's TAG meeting, I needed our teens' input in some shopping decisions. While I can't recreate the whole meeting, I can share the most important part of it. Just imagine that I'm sharing my screen and talking out loud while asking questions like:

Do you want to vote on craft kits or do you want to vote on snacks? [Guess what? They went for the snacks. SHOCKING, I know!]

Should I bother getting healthy snacks, or are teens not going to eat them?

Do Funyuns even count as a food group?

What kind of juices do you recommend?

Then our teens typed their answers, which I thought were both enlightening and entertaining, so I decided to share them with you. ENJOY!

snackss

im kinda hungry

Yes

lol

Snacks

Chips

those veggie chips are so good

Doritos

yea doritos

the sea salt ones are really good since theyre not that salty

I don’t really eat junk food so I really don’t know 😂

my mom gets healthy chips

We used to get sun chips at school

my friends and i lowkey hate the sun chips because the school gives it to us

Cape cod brand is okay

deep river is a really good chip brand

pringles are also really good

ghost peppers are really spicy

I know teens love takis

the honey bbq fritos are so good

Funyuns are so good 😱

dill pickles chips taste weird tbh

funyuns is good

the blue takis are so good

the voodoo chips might be good for halloween

grandma's cookies are so good

i also vote for oreos

Chips ahoy

chips ahoyyyy

milanos alright

Mothers cookies are way too sweet

yea mother's cookies are really bad

Peanut butter is bad

i hate them

there are muffins in packages that are really good but i cant remember the brand name

Little bites?

yea those

I don’t drink coffee

iced coffee sounds good

Teens love caprisuns

the bottle starbucks are good

the french vanilla ones are the best

cant go wrong w apple juice

yea mott's is good

Capri sun for sure

i think that the wider variety of the caprisun is good

natures valley is the best brand in my opinion

cliff bars are definitely really good

I like chewy bars not the crunchy ones in my opinion

byeeeee

byee have a good dayy

[nyurb]

yesterday i had a slow morning and helped victoria talk through her essay on to the lighthouse for a bit and went to coffee and company to work on my essay on canadian punk and commodification. i stopped at the farmer’s market on the way and got a cucumber and an apple, and instead of getting a muffin (safe) i got a chocolate brownie with walnuts (sooooo yummy) plus iced americano (black). it was insanely hot so the doors to the cafe were open, which was nice, and everyone was wearing their cute spring-y clothes. after a bit i went for a walk and spend another hour or two at balzac’s working in the big window (also open) before running home to get ready for the SLEEZER concert!!!! they were a weezer cover band, but last night was their last show bc some of the members were moving. i went with emma from english, who i’ve had the biggest crush on for forever, and their housemates. it was honestly such an incredible night, they were all super fun to hang with and so sweet and kind!!!! and one of them is in con-ed so im going to be her friend. sleezer played all the hits -- lots of pinkerton and blue album which was super swag -- and emma and i got a picture with the band afterwards. they definitely reignited my love for weezer, and already today ive listened to pinkerton and blue album and plan to listen to MORE. after, me emma and anna went to musiikki for about two hours and just chatted and had beers. jeremy was working and i ran into adam -- he was crushed that he missed the sleezer show, and that he was only just now finding out that they existed. emma brought up the time where i ran out onto princess from zap records and ambushed them and their housemates bc i had just tracked down ‘im wide awake, its morning’ on CD after looking for like two weeks straight. they talked about that and other little things from last year and was like ‘remy from english’ to their housemates, which makes me think that all of last year when i was telling sophie and rachana about our little interactions so were THEY. we are very similar -- cringe and proud, likes to lie for no reason to strangers, silly, cute, fun, fashionable, i could go onnnnnn im devastated theyre leaving kingston on monday and we will not have a chance to get to know each other better as of now, but i think on the way home from dawson this yr when i stop in vancouver i will make sure to pay them a visit. after the show i walked home and got don’s (dbl cheeseburger and lg oreo flurry) and found a pack of darts on the ground !!!!!! it was crazy. 

[acciofanfics]

Sundays|Sirius Black|

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Warnings: none!

A/N: I hope this is okay! It was such a cute idea and I hope I did it justice. -S

—————————

It wasn’t surprising that everything was a bit of an adjustment, a learning curve if you will. Sirius lost two of his closest friends. Harry lost his parents. Even in the midst of grieving Sirius hadn’t once thought about not stepping up and fulfilling his role as Harry’s godfather, not only because he loved the child but he knew the alternative was Lily’s sister and from everything he heard about them from James and Lily they were bloody dreadful. There was no way in hell that Sirius would ever do that to him willingly.

It did get better though, it truthfully did. While he still missed Harry’s parents everyday of his life, he and Harry were getting on fine. And Sirius wasn’t nearly as bad at being responsible as he thought he would be… for the most part.

It was a tradition of sorts to take Harry for ice cream on Sundays. Sometimes that meant for breakfast, depending on the day, but honestly did it really matter what time you consumed the dessert if desserts were going to be consumed anyways? He never understood why the timing seemed to matter. Plus the little store he liked to frequent served muffins and such, ideal breakfast food.

Sirius was never one to care about other people’s opinions so it didn’t bother him in the slightest when he got questioning looks from the servers dishing up different flavors of frozen delicacies at nine in the morning. He simply sat his 3 year old companion down at a little table and laughed along with him as he ice cream landed on everything in the general vicinity.

“Whoa, you two sure know how to start the morning right.” A friendly giggle drew Sirius’ attention from Harry, and was instead met with the sight of a woman smiling down at the child. A sensible coffee and muffin in hand, “Is it good?”

Harry nodded promptly, seemingly shy at the attention, but it wasn’t long at all before he was scooping a messy spoonful of semi-melted cream up and offering it to the stranger, “Wanna bite?”

“Oh! I couldn’t, that’s for you! Thank you very much though.” She chuckled at the way Harry nodded and shoveled it into his own mouth instead. She turned to Sirius, “He’s very polite and so adorable.”

It would be a lie to say that Harry hadn’t garnered attention before (most of it was from women). Still, Sirius never payed it much mind even though Remus had teased him once that he was surprised Sirius wasn’t using Harry to pull in potential prospects. But… there was something about her smile that made Sirius want to entertain the conversation, “Very. You should feel special, it’s not often he offers to share with me.”

She laughed at that, and Sirius quite enjoyed the sound. He might’ve been a little jealous that her attention was right back on Harry, but to be honest Harry was the cuter one of the two, how could he possibly blame her? After a few minutes of their conversation, the young woman turned back to him, “I’m sorry for interrupting your breakfast. I’ll let you two get back to it.”

“Oh! No interruption at all. In fact I’m sure he had more fun talking with someone new, instead of just me all the time.” As soon as the words left his mouth Sirius felt a little scummy, wondering how desperate he must’ve seemed trying to throw in the fact it was just him.

“Well, I quite enjoyed talking with you as well. Im here everyday around this time if you want some company. Unfortunately, I have to run today. It was very nice meeting you, Bye-Bye. Bye-Bye.” She said she was in a hurry but Sirius noticed she took the time to wave goodbye twice to Harry and lit up with he returned the simple hand gesture. Of course after that she was off… and he didn’t even have a chance to catch her name.

He didn’t take Harry back the next day, because he didn’t want to see to desperate. However, it was the day after and it took some convincing but he did manage to get the toddler to be satisfied with a Banana and a blueberry muffin instead of their usual when they frequented the joint. Sirius was pleased to see that his plan worked when he heard a familiar voice, “I see you decided on a much more conventional breakfast choice today.”

They “ran into” each other a lot more often after that. Sirius now knew her name, she knew both of theirs and she offered the sincerest of condolences when she put two and two together. Remus told him to just ask her out for the love of god, and Sirius really contemplated it. Though, he was a little nervous… completely out of character, sure. To be fair, he hadn’t been on a proper date since Lily and James, and if he was being honest he hadn’t quite clicked with someone so well before that really. He’d hate for Harry to lose the social interactions because he somehow managed to screw up the dynamic.

He was more than shocked when he blurted it out without speaking one morning, “I was thinking about taking Harry to the cinema, I think he’d enjoy a muggle movie. You should come too if you’re free… and perhaps dinner after?”

“Yeah, that sounds fun. There’s one thing though…” (Y/N)’s normally sure sounding voice wavered slightly, “After dinner… perhaps we could go for a drink… the two of us?”

“That sounds lovely.”

[notanothergallaghergirlsblog]

headcanon time!

(gallagher girls)

im doing the uh, main characters first so i'll put the side ones in a different post

bex has experience in like, dancing stuff. At some point her parents took her to some country and she was 'undercover' as a ballet student to spy on the instructor, but continued the lessons afterwards bc she enjoyed it. Tried literally every other type of dance too.

liz has adhd. most people dont notice bc they're used to it, but liz got it checked out and she got diagnosed. doesnt affect her very much tho.

cammie can bake simpler stuff like cookies or plain muffins but nothing harder, and zach can cook like no one's business. they have the best dinner parties.

macey picked up drawing as a hobby (like, light sketching, a bit of painting) when she was free and now has loads of sketchbooks of both finished and unfinished drawings, and they're actually really good.

preston started taking krav maga after the whole circle incident, one of the reasons why he's a little buffer now.

zach and cammie regularly mix up their clothes bc cammie keeps taking the former's and zach can somewhat fit into cammie's biggest shirt. its just a little too short.

bex confessed to liz secretly around when cammie disappeared, because she starts realizing that in the business everyones lives are too short and she couldn't lose the slight chance of being with liz, and they were kinda unofficially dating around when they went to rescue preston, so it was never really mentioned by cammie, and started dating officially after graduation.

macey likes to go on coffee dates and picnic dates and amusement park dates and roseville is perfect for that so preston visits ofte so that they can go on nice dates.

bex and macey are chess buddies.

cammie and zach go with bex and liz and preston and macey on triple dates, or just double dates depending on which pair is free.

bex likes mint chocolate chip ice cream, liz likes caramel ice cream or good ol' vanilla, cammie prefers vanilla or chocolate, macey likes cookies and cream

they also are the reason why every summer the grocery runs out of ice cream. they consume unhealthy amounts of it.

[134340am]

hi yuna!! i love ur coffee shop 💞

whats everyone’s fav kind of customer? :0 im so curious!

SOPH MY SWEETHEART THANK U FOR ASKING 😭😭 okok here it goes

levi (head roaster): loves it when people have complete orders, so he doesn’t have to break his momentum to ask/say “hot or cold?” “how many shots?” “we don’t have an ice blended version of this.” so as long as your order is complete, he’ll make it for you perfectly regardless of how long or complicated it is

armin (barista): loves it when customers listen to him and get a pastry to go with their drink!!! he’s an expert with “any warm snacks to go with your drink?” “today’s cake of the day is raspberry lychee!” “would you like a banana crumb muffin to go with that, for a little bit of sweetness?” and he loves seeing the customer stop, contemplate, and say yes :-) legend has it that his conversion rate is a solid 90%

shouto (barista): loves when his friends drop by for a visit :-( bakugou’s usually stomping in first thing in the morning, which is great because shouto likes morning shifts and he’s the only one who can deal with him LOL (can you imagine levi and bakugou… but i digress) shouto loves making drinks for his friends, heating up their pastries for them, chatting with them at the counter, bidding them goodbye :*) and you can see his face totally light up when rei drops by for tea sometimes

shinsou (barista-in-training): likes customers with complex orders because it trains his memory and speed. he’s a pretty decent barista (levi says he’s “fine”, which actually says a lot!) but he wants to get as much experience with making drinks asap so he can get promoted and get paid more LOL. he also likes to stay back to tinker with the coffee machine at the end of the day (personal experimentation) so he likes closing shifts.

kuroo (marketing & publicity head): likes clients who are non-fussy and keep to timelines. so if he’s planning a collab between yuna’s coffee bar and another brand, he prioritises clients who can stick to strict timelines and manage their own stuff well so the collab can be successful. (he’s thinking of ways to persuade onigiri miya to collab but they’re really busy!)

iwaizumi (operations): likes clients who know their shit. so if he says “please let us know if the shipment will arrive by 11 May, otherwise please let us know when is the next available date and we’ll change up the menu accordingly”, he means it—he doesn’t like guesstimates and likes it when clients can give him a clear cut answer. he’s the person who keeps the coffee bar running, after all! he needs answers, not questions!

ask me questions about my coffeeshop!au

[20rubixcubes]

enhypen as baristas

maknae line x gn!reader (comedy, fluff, mild angst)

~1.2k words ea (headcanons)

warnings: cursing

a/n: i just wrote this for funsies, please be mindful that there is heavy swearing in these headcanons (particularly in ni-ki’s part), so if that isn’t your taste, perhaps skip this one! other than that, the rest of this is pretty chill, so i hope you enjoy my shitposting. oh, and lmk if you like this enough to want part two with the hyung line 👀 just maybe i’ll do it

sunoo

was only recently employed as an afternoon shift employee and was both shocked and distressed after discovering the cafe didnt have an instagram

“what do you MEAN you dont have instagram??? how do we post selfies???” “sunoo we sell coffee” “NO ONE WANTS COFFEE JUNGWON THEY WANT CUTE BARISTAS”

starts an instagram for the cafe and takes aesthetic pictures of his latte art

his selfies get way more likes though

speaking of his latte art, he masters the skill like a week in and everyone else is incredibly jealous

their jealousy wears off when jungwon tells him that he has to start training the new apprentices

pretends he forgot how to do it for like a week but it hurts his pride so he begrudgingly agrees to train the apprentices instead

in his free time he can be found snapping pictures around the shop, eventually expanding to taking pictures of the others too

“sunghoon stop moving you look cute and i need to take a photo” “sunoo im holding hot milk” “does it look like i care beauty is pain sweetie”

other than that, he sometimes sits in the booths to snack on muffins and do his homework since he only comes in to the shop for about an hour during his school lunch break and on the weekends

you meet sunoo after applying for an apprenticeship, wanting to get a job before you finish high school and start college

seen as though jungwon looks like the boss, you approach him, nervous for your first shift

“i’m here for the apprenticeship program?” “oh yeah! one second!”

he trots off to the back room, leaving you standing awkwardly in the middle of the cafe

“SUNOO GET OFF JAY YOU HAVE AN APPRENTICE TO TRAIN” “*gasp* YOU MADE ME SMUDGE HIS LIPSTICK I'M QUITTING” “NO YOURE NOT GET OUT THERE RIGHT NOW”

the yelling pauses before who you presume is sunoo stomps through the back room door, a scowl on his face

he spots you, groaning loudly “are you the apprentice?”

“yes” you say meekly, guilty for seeming to ruin his shift

he gestures you to follow him behind the counter, pulling an apron out from under the sink and shoving it to your chest

its clear that hes pissed, yanking his tools out from the cupboards as you tie your apron behind your back quietly

“have you made coffee before?” “only instant coffee” “oh fantastic”

he seems to be getting more irritated by the minute before he takes a deep breath and starts directing you around the machines

“to do the art, you angle the mug like this and draw with the milk, but it wont show until it reaches the top so dont go crazy”

as if its nothing, he demonstrates by drawing a perfect swan in the milk, setting the latte down and dusting his hands off

“wow… thats amazing” “i know right? no one here appreciates me enough” “they should! this is the best i’ve ever seen”

he grins at your compliment, nodding with satisfaction and sending a wave of relief over you as you notice he looks less angry with you now

“um… im sorry if i interrupted whatever you were doing before” “oh, that? i was just doing jay’s makeup” “you like makeup? me too! i’ve never seen a boy interested in it though, thats really cool” you smile genuinely at him as he blinks in surprise

“really? you think its cool?” “definitely!”

you watch the gears turn in his head before he smiles widely, seeming to have come to some kind of revelation as he nods

“i like you.”

your cheeks heat up immediately, but before you can say anything in return, he starts calling out for jungwon, leaning over the counter

“JUNGWOOON, CAN WE HAVE THIS ONE?”

“well thats up to them” he looks up from the table hes wiping down, adjusting his apron as he walks over to the counter

“so youre all finished with the course? i hope sunoo wasnt too much for you”

“i wasnt! anyways, youre employed, okay?” “sunoo stop theyre just an apprentice”

he groans loudly, irritated once more as he whips his head to you

“you have to work here, ok? i said so, so come back and apply or i’ll be mad!”

you laugh at his antics and smile “i’ll see what i can do”

after jungwon pries sunoo off of your arm, you return your apron and leave the shop with a wave

“YOU BETTER COME BACK!” is the last thing you hear as you step out onto the street, the bell ringing to signal your exit

a week later, you return to the shop, slightly anxious that your new friend(?) might have forgotten about you

but this is quickly washed away when you hear a high pitched squeal from the counter

“JUNGWON! HURRY THE FUCK UP AND GET THE FORMS THEYRE HERE”

you laugh as you approach the counter, a teasing tone on your voice

“are you supposed to be talking to your boss like that?” “whats he gonna do? fire me? im the only one who can make coffee in this place” “true”

soon enough, jungwon comes out of his hiding place, his hands clasped together

“im really sorry to ask this but please, you have to work here, sunoo hasnt shut up about you all week and i dont know if i can stand him anymore, i’ll even pay you extra please dear god”

you give sunoo a look, only receiving an innocent smile and puppy eyes back

“sure, i’ll take the job!”

jungwon sighs in relief as sunoo begins jumping up and down, yelling something about having his own little baby to take care around the shop as you groan, covering your blushing face

once you have your hours established (sunoo made you take the same as all of his, but you did the nights instead of the afternoons on the weekends, to his displeasure), you get straight to working

… well, sort of

it was hard to get work done with sunoo pestering you around the clock

“you think im cute right?” “yes sunoo” “even though i have bags under my eyes? “yes sunoo” “you promise?” “yes sunoo” “good”

admittedly he is slightly of help when it comes to the more fiddly parts of making coffee, but every other second of the day he seems to be flirting nonstop

“can i kiss you?” “no” “why not” “sunoo we’ve been over this” “BEING AT WORK ISNT A VALID EXCUSE”

worn down after his incessant yelling all day, you find yourself snapping faster than usual

“we’re not even dating, sunoo! why would i kiss you!? just stop playing with my feelings already!”

for the first time since you’ve known him, sunoo goes quiet

“why not?”

“what are you talking about now sunoo?” “why arent we dating”

now its your turn to go quiet

“do you not like me?” “what? no, sunoo-” before you can reason with him, you watch him quickly rush away from you around the counter, slamming the break room door behind him with tears in his eyes

cursing to yourself, you ensure there are no customers to serve before quickly darting after him

after looking around a bit, you hear sniffling from the supply closet and knock on the door quietly

“sunoo?” “leave me alone!”

you sigh, taking a step back and turning on your heel to face the opposite direction, running a hand through your hair as you think

you spot a dog bed at your feet, suddenly remembering that jake usually keeps his dog supplies covered in dog hair in the closet

“sunoo arent you allergic to dogs?”

“... *sniffle* y-yeah”

after you persuade him to come out by mentioning that his face is going to get all puffy, he steps out, eyes glued to the floor as he looks away from you in shame

placing a hand on his shoulder, you speak to him softly

“sunoo, look at me”

he does, hesitantly, his eyes red and watery and, as you said, puffy and inflamed

despite this, you smile

“i do like you back”

his eyes start watering again, your heart skipping a beat in fear that you had said something wrong

“e-even if my face is all puffy and gross?” his voice wobbles, the tears filling his eyes giving him a sense of vulnerability as you sigh

“yes, even if your face is all puffy and gross”

he smiles at that, shutting his eyes cutely as you press a kiss to his cheek

“and theres your kiss”

he whines “i was supposed to do that!”

“you can do it after we finish work, okay?” “WORK STILL ISNT A VALID EXCUSE…. but maybe today just because i need to ice my face” “yeah you really should, can you even see?” “no not at all” “great”

jungwon

the previous manager left suddenly and jungwon was given a semi-forced promotion as he was the only employee with at least half of a brain cell

poor boy is stressed 24/7

doesnt get paid enough for this

“hey jungwon we ran out out of coffee bea-” “I ORDERED NEW ONES FOUR HOURS AGO NOW SHUT UP IM TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE BOSS DOESNT FIND JAKE’S DOG SHELTER IN THE SUPPLY CLOSET”

goes through hell every day just to make sure the others dont burn the cafe down

is supposed to be on the morning shift but he stays until the afternoon

in his rare moments of downtime, he likes to go around and water the hanging plants around the shop

is that one vine where the mom listens to nicki minaj for the first time and screams “no” over and over whenever ni-ki gets control of the cafe music

“RIKI NISHIMURA WHAT IS THAT ON THE SPEAKERS” “ITS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR ARIANA GRANDE” “TURN IT OFF THIS IS NOT PG13” “SHUT THE FUCK UP GRANDPA”

is only 16 but acts like a 32-year-old father going through a midlife crisis

lifts boxes of supplies all day yet his joints are famously brittle

“hey jungwon did you hear glass shattering too?” “sorry jay that was my back” “you need to invest in physical therapy” “maybe if i wasnt paying for property damage every other week 😊”

you meet jungwon when you drop into the cafe for a croissant and a coffee before your class starts

usually you come at night maybe an hour before closing so you had never seen him before, but here you were watching this cute but clearly stressed boy scramble around the shop carrying boxes of supplies to the back

trying not to be creepy, you sigh, turning back to your phone after watching him for a solid five minutes straight

as you do, you hear a crash coming from what you assume is the supply closet followed by a disgruntled groan

pausing, looking around at the other customers typing away at their laptops and waiting for another staff member to go check on the boy, you stand up as you discern that he must be the only one working and hesitantly go to see if he’s okay

“hello? are you okay?” you peer through the door, your eyes widening at the sight of him rubbing his head with a wince on his features, supplies strewn around him at his feet and a box knocked over beside him

“ah… um, yes, i’m okay, sorry if i disturbed you with that noise…” he smiles bashfully, pulling himself back onto his feet

“do you need help with all of that stuff?”

he opens his mouth to protest, not wanting to have to ask for help from a customer, but after seeing the amount of crap off of the shelves, he realises that there is no way in hell he’s going to be able to clean all of it up alone before his shift ends

“um… is that okay?” his cheeks flush with embarrassment as you smile

“sure!”

over the next couple of hours you two establish a little system of bagging the spilt supplies and passes them to eachother to put in boxes, chatting never ceasing as you discover that you actually have a lot of things in common

“since you work here, what’s your favourite kind of coffee?” “i like lattes… i cant stand bitter things” “me too! my friend drinks espressos though” “ditch them”

you also find out that he started being homeschooled after becoming the manager as he doesnt have time to attend normal school

the both of you find yourselves laughing nonstop, having fun in eachother’s company

so much so that you end up late for school

“oh shit! i completely missed my first class”

guilty for making you late, he offers to take you

“i can take you?” “you drive?” “well….. not exactly”

once sunoo and ni-ki arrive to care for the shop, he takes you out to the car park, pulling a spare helmet out of his backpack and securing it on your head before giving your head a pat as he gets onto his scooter

“you look cute” “i look like a bug” “a cute bug”

once you get to school, face red after having to hold onto him the entire time, you hop off and pass him the helmet with a shy smile

“thanks for driving me” you mutter, brushing off imaginary dirt from your shirt as you do your best to avoid eye contact, your face still flushed and heart racing

is it possible to develop a crush on someone this quickly???

jungwon is so cute that he makes it possible, you surmise

“of course” he mirrors your nervous smile, a blush finding its way to his own cheeks

as you bow and spin on your heel to start walking inside, he stops you

“wait!”

“what is it?” you turn to him, your heart still thundering against your ribcage at the fond expression he has plastered on his features

“actually… can i pick you up? after school?”

when you pause, your face growing hotter and hotter, he begins to sputter

“i-i’m really sorry, its fine if not! that was way too forward, i just really like you and- oh god that was even more forward- um-” “okay” “yeah i’m sorry that was a stupid questio- wait, what?”

before he can say anything else, your smile widens

“i’ll see you later, okay? don’t be late!” you wave, skipping into the building with a fluffy feeling in your chest

with an awkward wave, jungwon watches you leave, his mouth wide open in shock before a grin replaces his expression

getting back into his seat, the lovestruck smile never leaving his face as he drives off, he begins to count down the minutes until he gets to see you again

ni-ki

works the afternoon shift

technically an apprentice but he gets paid and has been there forever so basically an employee at this point

or he would be if he ever actually made coffee

he sits with the work phone all morning and chooses the music

perpetually dancing to 7 rings by ariana grande (look up his cover. youre welcome in advance)

jungwon and jay scream at him to at least do the mopping to which he complies, but not without performing a whole ass concert with it

once they saw him twirl and dip the mop

eventually they just told him to go back to curating the music because he was scaring customers away and they were losing business

he was horrible at cleaning anyway

“hey jungwon i think i got window cleaner in your plant” “im firing you” “i dont even go here” “STOP QUOTING MEAN GIRLS AND FIX THE DAMAGE YOUVE CAUSED”

you meet ni-ki while youre drinking your coffee at a booth and he plays your favourite obscure indie song so you have to compliment his taste and get to talking

he plays your favourite songs whenever youre in the shop and audibly hisses at anyone who tries to change it

makes choreography to said songs at home and tries to impress you by casually belting it out by your booth

when you compliment his dancing and ask how long hes been practicing that choreography hes all like “oh hahaha it was just casual freestyle super easy peasy”

(hes been practicing for two weeks)

thought he was being super obvious by doing these things but apparently nOT because you have not caught the hint at all and hes getting impatient

asks for advice from the others begrudgingly

“give them flowers” “jay thats so boring” “do you want to use one of my dogs? everyone loves dogs” “wtf jake since when have you had more than one dog” “make them latte art with a heart on it” “sunoo ive literally never made a coffee in my life” “why dont you just ask them out like a normal perso-” “shut the fuck up grandpa thats so weird no one does that”

eventually he settles on sunoo’s idea of making you latte art and he embarks on his journey to make his first coffee

rather than focusing on the actual taste, sunoo tells him to just do whatever so that he can show him how to do the art

“why is it green ni-ki” “you said to do whatever” “and your first idea was to make poison? idk if this is the best idea if youre trying to ask this person out” “shut up and pass me the milk”

burns his hands on the steaming milk jug at least fifteen times and ends up with so many bandaids on his fingers

despite how stiff the bandages are on his hands, he eventually manages to make a sort-of legible heart

“it looks like africa” “have you ever had steamed milk poured on your eyes sunoo?”

poor ni-ki waits for you all day, his heart leaping every time the bell on the door rings only to roll his eyes when it isnt you

he even stays past his shift so youd better let him take you on a date or hes quitting

when you finally arrive he trips over the bucket at his feet he was using to clean and spills dirty water all over his pants

“omg ni-ki are you okay what happened” *five octaves higher* “NOTHING I'M COMPLETELY FINE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT”

by the time he’s finished cleaning himself up (and by that i mean fixing his hair in the mirror for twenty minutes) he takes a deep breath and walks over to you, somewhat cold latte in hand

“um,” he clears his throat, his face growing red as he slides the mug towards you “i made this for you”

“aw thanks ni-ki! why is it green” “........its matcha?”

youre slightly suspicious but you look back to the mug and slowly realise that the “drawing” slightly resembles a heart, smiling a little bit to yourself

when you look back to him, youre a little confused as to why hes just standing there

“is something wrong?” you press the mug to your lips, taking a sip

“o-uh uh actually, i wanted to ask if… if you would uh maybe sort of go on a date with me”

you can only smile

“yes, but…”

his heart starts beating faster, watching you anxiously

you stand up, taking the notepad and pen from his apron pocket and scribbling your phone number

“only if you promise to learn how to make actual coffee” you wink, handing him the notepad and sauntering out of the shop

hes stood there dumbstruck, stars in his eyes at the slip of paper in his hand

but then he realises: he has a new mission

rushing to the back room, he slams the door open

“grandpa, i need you to teach me how to make coffee right now” “literally why do i pay you”

with your promise in mind, the others see him work more diligently at the counter than they ever have before

“wow youre actually working today?” “shut up i need to figure out how to do this butterfly before i pry my eyes out with a fork” “haha funny joke ni-” “did i stutter”

at the end of the week, he forces heeseung (the cafe’s best coffee maker) and sunoo (the cafe’s best latte artist) to judge his latte

“this is… surprisingly good” heeseung peers into the mug, smiling at the swan ni-ki created with the latte foam as sunoo grumbles “dont tell me im gonna have to start competing with this kid, it probably tastes gross” “it tastes amazing too” “im quitting”

with his coworkers’ notes in mind, he finally works up the nerve to send you a quick message telling you to come into the shop

when you arrive the next day, ni-ki greets you and immediately gets to work, making sure to stand as close as humanly possible to your booth so he can show off his newly acquired coffee making skills

with you only inches away, he does make a mistake and spill milk on his shirt after looking at you and not his hands for a second too long, but you decide to give him the benefit of the doubt when he sets the mug in front of you

“wow! this heart is perfect!”

you smile, looking up to him “did you seriously learn how to do latte art just so you could take me on a date?” “… y-yeah, and?”

you can only chuckle as you press the mug to your lips, readying yourself to drink liquid dirt…

“this is… really good!” you grin, taking another sip and putting the mug down on its saucer

“i think you’ve definitely earned yourself a date… or two”

at this news, ni-ki’s face lights up, shoving the urge to scream down his throat before nodding stiffly to try and contain his excitement with a strained “cool” escaping his lips

“are you okay ni-ki?” “yes just give me one second”

he quickly scrambles to the break room, a moment of silence wafting through the store before a shrill scream fills the air

eyes wide, you turn to jay, who had been manning the till, after hearing him burst into laughter

“what is he doing?”

“we told him the freezer was sound proof”

[ewritesthangs]

The Big Day

Today, was the day. Corpse and you were getting married. You woke up bright and early, but not before Corpse. He left you a rose with a note beside the bed. 

'I'll see you later. I'll be the guy at the alter. 🖤' 

Starting the day off with an even bigger smile than before. You received a text from your maid of honor, your mom, your dad, Sean. All basically saying they're excited to see you guys get married. You just chuckle and get ready for the day. First was nails. Then hair and makeup. Then to the venue. You put on a shirt that said "Bride", some jeans and your converse. You drive to breakfast first, since the nail salon wasn't open yet. The wedding was at 1. It was 945. Your appointment was at 1030 for nails. Breakfast was only some muffins and coffee. Iced, for you. You guys get there early, so they take you in early. You get acrylics. (See picture above) this took over an hour. By the time you finished, you had about 15 minutes to go to your next appointment. Which was only a few minutes away. 

"Were gonna be late!" 

"I'll call and tell them that I might be late. Don't worry Y/BFF/N." you did as you said, calling to make sure it would be okay if they were a little late just in case you guys were. 

"Of course love! You are my only client today. I want to see you guys get married. Uh-duh." You laugh. 

"Thank you so much. I'll make sure you get a nice tip."

"Just give me some extra cake." 

"You've got that too." You hang up and head over there.

CORPSE POV  

I awoke earlier than my wife to leave her a cute note with a rose. I leave her with a sweet kiss to her forehead before actually leaving for the day. Our day. Our wedding day. I was spending the day with Sean, Felix, Sykkuno, and some other friends of mine. Today was going to be a great day, though I am super anxious. I take some of my meds to help. The guys pick me up and bring me to go to breakfast first. At my favorite spot. 

"Soooo, are you nervous? Excited?" 

"Yes." I chuckle and order some food. "I'm nervous something might go wrong. But i'm excited to marry the love of my life." 

"Awww our Corpsey is growing up." Felix says feigning choked up. 

"Yeah, I really am. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Y/N." 

"So sappy. I love it." Sean chimes in. We eat once the food arrives and converse about anything and everything. 

"Where are you guys going for your honeymoon?" 

"Welllll were going to...." I tell them where. (Keeping it a surprise to you guys still.) 

"She is going to love it!" 

We then head to the venue to get ready. 

Back to 2ND PERSON POV 

You were finished up with your hair and makeup. You looked breathtakingly beautiful. Your mom chokes up. 

"My baby girl. Getting married." 

"Mom you're gonna me cry." You fan your eyes and hug her. 

"Lets get to the venue and get you dressed. Thankfully the venue is right around the corner." She chuckles. You guys head there. 

Upon arrival, you see many people already there. You were nervous, yet excited to marry Corpse. You get out of the car and go in, making sure no man sees you. You wanted to capture the moment your father sees you and your husband, of course. You go into a room of the barn there. You get dressed with the help of your best friend. Them and everyone tear up. At how breathtaking you look. 

"I said I wouldn't cry but crap here we go." Your best friend says, fanning their eyes. You laugh, tearing up yourself. 

"Guys I'm gonna cry!" You fan yourself. "God today is so emotional. I knew it would be." 

"It's almost time guys!" Your mom yells, excited. She goes out and sits down. Your best friend goes out and waits for her turn. Your dad comes in and stops, his breath hitching. 

"My baby girl. Getting married. To a wonderful man. Im so happy for you. You're so beautiful." He lets a few tears fall as he takes you into his arms. A Thousand Years by The Piano Guys starts to play. Signalling its time. Time to walk down the aisle to your future. 

"Don't let me fall, daddy." You whisper, holding onto his arm. You take a deep breath. 

"Never my love." You guys begin your ascend. You walk from the barn, to the aisle. Corpse sees you and instantly his eyes fill with tears. You were the only girl in the world, in that moment. Your own breath hitches at the sight of your future husband. You slowly walk to your Corpsey. He holds his hand out for you. Your dad lifts your veil and kisses you gently on the cheek. 

“Who gives this young lady to this young man?” The wedding officiant says. 

“I do.” Your father says, voice breaking. Corpse takes your hand and you hand off your flowers to your best friend so you can hold his other hand. 

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Corpse and Y/N. If anybody has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace. Thank the Lord nobody said anything.” That comment causes everyone to laugh. “The bride and groom have written their vows. Corpse, your first.”

“Y/N, when we met I knew we would be at least friends forever. When you said yes to dating me, I knew we were in for the long run. I had grown to have strong feelings for you. And they keep growing for you every second of every day. The love I have for you is unmatched. I never knew I could love anyone as much as I do you. You have shown me I am loveable, I am enough, I can conquer anything. You mean more to me than I ever thought possible. You really do complete me. You have made me a better man. And I am eternally grateful for you being in my life. Now here we are. On our wedding day, granted I started writing this when you said yes to marrying me, you look beyond breathtaking. You standing in front of me ready to say I do, I hope.I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives and beyond together. I promise to uplift you, to love you forever and beyond, to be there for you, to cherish you, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. Together we can do anything. I love you, Y/N Y/M/N.” By the end of the vows’ you were in tears, happy tears but still. You were thankful for good setting spray and waterproof makeup. Corpse’s voice had waived during the duration of his vows’. “Oh baby.” He wipes your tears from your cheeks, trying so hard not to kiss your supple lips. 

“That was beautiful, holy crap. Any dry eyes up in here? No? I didn’t think so!” You chuckle. 

“Y/N, are you okay to say your vows?” The officiant says. 

“Yes. I’ve got this.” You take a deep breath before taking out your vows. “Corpse. My love. I knew from the moment I met you, we would forever be in each others lives. When I began to catch feelings for you, you asked me out. With great relief, I said yes. He likes me too! I knew from that moment on, we would get married someday. And I had a feeling that if the feeling was mutual, you’d pick Halloween as our wedding date.” You chuckle and sniffle a little. “My love for you only grows stronger as the seconds pass. I can’t imagine, nor will I, a life without you. You make me the happiest every moment of every day. I promise to love you until the end of time and beyond. I promise to be there for you, to love you no matter what happens in life. I promise to let you stream peacefully. I promise to have and to hold you in every way possible. I promise everything. I do I do I do. With all of my heart and soul, I do!” You wipe your tears and smile at your Corpse. 

“Beautiful! Now who is ready to put them rings on?” The officiant chimes. “Corpse, do you take Y/N to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? For richer or for poorer? In sickness and in health from this day forward?” 

His face broke out in the biggest grin. “I do.” He slides on your ring. 

“And do you, Y/N, take Corpse to be your lawfully wedded husband? You heard me say that stuff for him right? I don’t have to repeat?” He causes everybody to laugh again. “To have and to hold? For richer or for poorer? In sickness and in health from this day forward?” 

“Hell yes I do!” You slip his ring on with the biggest grin matching Corpses. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife! Corpse, kiss your bride.” 

“With pleasure.” He takes your cheeks in his hands and he kisses you passionately. Sparks and butterflies fly around. And you pull him in closer by his waist. Everyone cheers for you. 

“I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. H/L/N!” He pulls back only slightly before pecking your lips then holding your hands up. 

“We’re married!” He cheers. You giggle and cheer as well. Your best friend hands you your flowers. You walk back down the aisle, a married woman. 

--------

Decorations flow in the light breeze of the autumnal afternoon. Laughter and conversations warm up the reception before the bride and groom enter. The final click of the camera notifies you that it was time to go to the reception. You hold onto Corpse's arm, walking into the reception once announced. You guys had planned on doing the first dance right away, to get it out of the way for both of you don't dance the best. You guys practiced a slow dance though, the whole time you guys were engaged. I'll Follow You by Shinedown begins to play. You and Corpse go to straight to the dance floor. Your arms wrap around his neck loosely and his arms wrap around your waist. 

If I could find assurance to leave you behind 

I know my better half would fade 

And all my doubts 

Is a staircase for you 

Up and out of this base 

The first step is the one you believe in 

The second one might be profound 

Eyes lock. Love emits. Kisses pressed to your lips. 

I'll follow you down to the eye of the storm 

Don't worry I'll keep you warm 

I'll follow you down 

While we're passing through space 

I don't care if we fall from grace 

I'll follow you down 

Twirls. Corpse twirls you a few times and pulls you close once again. 

You can have the money and the world

The angels and the pearls

Even trade my heart for color blue

Just like the tower we never built

And the shadow of all the guilt

When the other hand was pointing at you

Yet the first step is the one you believe in

The second one might be profound

You look at your husband with nothing but pure love and joy. He truly makes you the happiest. 

I'll follow you down to the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

I'll follow you down while we are passing through space

I don't care if we fall from grace

You are picked up by your husband and spun around a few times. 

I'll follow you down to where forever lies

Without a doubt I'm on your side

There is no where else I'd rather be

I'm not about to compromise

Give you up to say goodbye

I've got you through the deep

I'll keep you close to me

I'll follow you down to the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

I'll follow you down

While we are passing through space

I don't care if we fall from grace

I'll follow you

If I could find assurance

To leave you behind

I know my better would fade

I'll follow you down

Corpse pulls you in for a sweet kiss. Dips you down. You squeal, feeling butterflies in your stomach. He chuckles at your response and pulls you back up. "I love you so much Mrs. H/L/N." 

"I love you just as much, maybe more." 

----------

Later that night, as the reception is winding down, you find your husband with his streaming buddies laughing away. 

"Honey, it's almost time." You softly remind your husband. You knew you guys had a flight soon for the reception was almost finished. 

"Okay baby, let's go get dressed." His voice, though always raspy, was soft and sweet. He pressed a kiss to your temple. You just smile up at him and press a kiss to his jaw. Back to the changing rooms of the barn, you guys venture off to. You change into a cute little white dress, while Corpse changes into a button up shirt and some jeans. You guys meet back up, your veil still on. 

"My beautiful wife." Emphasis on the wife. "I'll never tire of calling you my wife." His smile was unbreakable. 

"Where are we going?" You ask, still unaware of where he was taking you for your honeymoon. 

"Hmmm. Where is somewhere you have always wanted to go?"  

"Bora bora?" 

"Yes baby." 

"What! How?!" 

"Thank Sean for helping. It was part of his gift." He winks and chuckles. You jump up into his arms and hug him tightly. Perfect way to end the perfect day. 

Tag list: @teenloves @whatinthyworld @deadangelbride @teamragnarssons @lovely-ki

[coffeecakefanfics]

The 1,001 Clichés of A Teenage Romance (Peter Parker x Fem!Reader)

Studying with Ned was nothing new to Peter, but actually stopping by ‘Kay’s Coffee and bakery’ for coffee was.  The coffee shop sat two buildings down from his apartment and Aunt May would stop in before work every morning.  With her day off she asked Peter and Ned to run and get her a coffee and whatever they’d like.  

It was a typical coffee shop, the walls were painted a muted cream and the tables were a beautiful sturdy oak.  There were pictures of New York plastered on the wall along with a big picture of the “Kay” family.  Behind the counter was a menue board along with a black board with the desserts of the day scribbled in pink and yellow chalk.  

“Good morning, welcome to Kay’s Coffee and Bakery where every cup is brewed fresh and every baked good is homemade how can I help yo- Oh hey I know you two from school,”  The girl stood behind the counter.  She had a smile on her face.  She wore a plain black long sleeve with a small Kay’s logo on the left breast.  The half apron she wore was black and the name tag was pinned to the top ‘Y/N’

“We have Calc, bio, and english together and im pretty sure we share a lunch break too,” she beamed.

“Oh yeah you’re in drama and on the volleyball team right?” Ned kind of lit up.

“Yup, and i’m in knowledge bowl, student council, and they’re trying to get me to join prom planning,” she kind of laughed. Peter recognized her alright, she was the top hitter on the volleyball team, he remembers watching her last season with MJ. 

“You stay busy then?” Peter piped up this time.

“Well I mean between school, clubs, and work i’m surprised I have time for anything else,” She took a deep breath at that. “So, what can I get you guys?”

“I need an,” Peter looked at the text May had sent him, “Iced French Vanilla with Extra Extra Cream and white chocolate syrup and a coffee cake muffin” he finished and peeked up at the girl who was already brewing the drink. 

“So you’re the famous nephew huh?” she teased as she poured the creamer into the cup. Peters face went flush and he started to stutter

“I-well I uh”

“It’s fine, I think it’s sweet.  She tells me how good you take care of her and the trouble you get in to.  It’s honestly one of my favorite parts of my morning.  Everyone else is suuuch a drag,” She laughed and slid the drink and muffin across the counter. “Anything else?”

“We don’t really drink coffee,” Peter turned to Ned. “do you want anything?”

“Yeah can I have a hot chocolate?”  He asked.

“Of course, plain or with extras, extras are free of charge except espresso shots”

“However you like it is fine”

“alright that’ll be $8.27 thank you,” she took the cash, gave them change and went to making the drink. 

“May We’re back” Peter called into the apartment.  May came almost running from the couch to grab her coffee. 

“You are a life saver,” she kissed the top of his head.

“Come oonn” he gently pushed her back.

“Where’s Ned?”

“He had to go home, something about a new episode of a show, I don’t know” He flopped onto the chair cockeyed to the couch.

“She’s cute right?” May smirked and set her drink down.

“I mean yeah, She’s pretty, but she’s also popular,” he shrugged. 

“Peter, baby, she has a job and a full ride to MIT, not to mention she likes a lot of the same dorky stuff you do,” she shifted and looked at him. “You haven’t been on a date in years Pete, why not go now?” she poked.

“She probably already has someone, I mean she is popular, remember?”

“I think you should go for it, get out of the house,” The conversation ended there. Peter laid in bed that night thinking about how he’d spot her in class or in the halls.  She was pretty, but she was also busy, he didn’t want to mess with her schedule. 

Lunch rooms are the devil, they’re clique filled and loud, but the only time he can actually talk to his friends. 

“Come on you KNOW that padme just lost the will to live,” How the topic started none of them new all they new was Peter and Ned were going at it again and MJ wanted out. “Dude she just gave up, her husband joined the darkside, face the facts”

“Actually, Palpatine took her life force for Anakin, Padme was a strong woman who fought for what was right, she wouldn’t just leave her babies alone,” Y/n jumped in and sat next to MJ. Ned and Peter looked at each other and back at the girl.

“What i’m popular not uncultured,” she laughed. “Okay MJ I need some serious help with knowledge bowl studying”

“Y/n, I love you, I do, but I’m busy this week, I have a ton of homework because Mr. Braun decided to be a dick, I’m sorry,” MJ spoke remorsefully.

“My meet is monday, it’s going to decide who goes to state, is there no way you can help,” Y/n pleaded with her friend.

“I’m sorry, I am, but I can’t fail this class”

“You’re right I’m sorry, if you need help studying or doing homework i’ll help you” She smiled and went to stand. 

“Peter can help,” Ned blurted

“I can?” Peter turned his head sharply.

“He can, he has a stark internship until 6 but after that he’s free,” Ned motioned with his eyes from Peter to the Girl.  

“I-uh-I, yeah I can help,” he stuttered and flushed.

“Peter you really don’t have to,” she gave him a sympathetic look.

“Yeah no, it’s uh, no problem,” he smiled awkwardly.

“You just saved my life, I owe you.  I’ll meet you at the coffee shop and we can go to my place after okay?” she beamed.  Peter liked her smile, it was bright. 

“Of course” he grinned. 

“Y/N, Game plan!” One of the other girls called.

“Sorry, I have to go but tonight at 6,” she lit up as she grabbed her tray and jogged over to her friends.

“What the fuck?” peter turned to Ned.

“I saw how you looked at her at the coffee shop, and you haven’t been on a date in years. it’s my job as a wing man to help you get dates,” Ned shrugged and took a bite of the sandwich in front of him. Peter sighed and pulled his phone out.

P:Hey May, I’m helping a friend study I won’t be home till late

M:You’re not patrolling are you?

P:No, I’m seriously helping a friend study

M:Stay safe, I sent you $10 for dinner <3

The streets were dim when Peter walked up to the shop.  She stood locking the door.

“Hey” He called.

“Peter Hi,” she grinned and waved. 

“So um, y-your place?” he tugged at his straps. 

“Yeah, I live in those apartments right there,” she nodded at the building two doors down.

“Wait, what? so do I, how come I never see you?” he turns to her. 

“I usually take the fire escape home, I hate walking through the lobby, and I can sneak in without having to talk to my family,” she laughed. “Not that they’re bad people, I just get over worked and don’t want to take it out on them” they walked into the lobby and got in the elevator.

“Don’t worry about them being home, I live with my dad and he’s on a business trip,” she unlocked the door and let Peter walk in.  It was cleanly decorated with neutral greys, whites and blacks. 

“This is nice,” he lets his eyes wander the apartment.

“Yeah, it’s how my mom liked it,” she smiled sadly.  Peter remembers it happening, it was one of the attacks on New York, The avengers couldn’t get everyone out in time, 3 people had died that day.

“I’m sorry for your loss”

“I’m not, she’s why I do what I do” The girl smiles and kicks her shoes off, “my room is back here, it’s way cooler than this,” she laughs and drags him to her room.  Warm LED lights illuminate the room.  Peter spins and looks at all the posters and figurines scattered around the room.  The walls are decorated with posters of various animes and shows. He turns to the tv stand and sees shelves full of games. 

“Told you I’m cultured,” she teases and sits on the bed. Peter sits next to her.  She pulls out her laptop and plugs a flash drive into it. 

“So this will give you questions and the answer, I get a point if I get it right,” she smiles and spins the screen to him. “thanks for doing this, by the way,” she adjusts and holds a decorative pillow to her chest.

They had been at this for nearly two hours she was growing frustrated and uneasy.

“Who wrote A farewell to Arms?”

“Hemmingway” she looed pleadingly

“Yes,” he beamed and went to click next.

“I can’t anymore, I’m done,” she flopped back on the bed. “This sucks” she yells muffled by her pillow.

“Then why keep doing it?” he closes the laptop. She sits up and pushes her hair out of her face. 

“That is a topic for a different level of friendship,” she smirks and looks him over.  She had had a crush on him forever, and by forever she means since last year.  She admired how his eyes kind of drifted around the room. 

“Do you need to go home yet?” she asked. His eyes jumped back to her and locked. 

“No, I live two floors down so it’ll only take a minute to get home”

“Do you want to play a game or watch a movie?” she asked, getting up and grabbing the controller. His face kind of flushed. “A-a movie is fine”

“What? scared I’ll kicked your ass or something?” she smirked.

“No way I just don’t want to make you cry when I beat you,” he joked cockily with her.

“Oh you’re on Parker, Injustice 2?” she looked back at him and he nodded.

“Black Canary is way to OP this is bullshit,” Peter throws his hands up. Y/N laid laughing at him.  His phone cut the laughter short.

“it’s May sorry,” he picked up the phone. “Peter it’s 10 pm where are you?!” she called into the line.

“there’s no way it’s-” he looked at his watch. “Oh shit, May I’m sorry i’m coming down now,” he hung up.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize how late it is,” he scrambled to grab his stuff. 

“Fire escape is faster than the lobby, there’s a window to the hallway if you go to the right” she grabbed his phone and bag for him. 

“i had fun,” he smiled at her.

“I did too, especially since I kicked your ass at injustice,” she smirked.

“I’ll see you at school monday?” he asked.

“Um, I’m free saturday if you want to come over, we can play games or watch a movie or something? I’ll get us pizza or-” she trailed off.

“I’d love to,” he blushed.

“It’s a date,” she smiled and opened her window. Peter stepped out onto the landing. 

“Hey peter?” she called and he turned to her.  She leaned out and kissed his cheek. “A little something for the road,” she held something wrapped in white paper to him. He shut the door to his apartment. 

“There you are, I was worried sick,” May scolded.

“I was upstairs with a friend, I’m sorry we lost track of time.  He set the paper on the counter and opened it.  A fresh coffee cake was sitting in a small box with a note

‘For May and Peter’ 

[jinderellas-castle]

𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓞𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓜𝓮~ (𝓟. 𝓙𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓷) 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 1

Tis my first fanfic, it's based of off Jimin's song Filter because I cannot get enough of that song omfg I love it so much. Au where Jimin is a fashion designer and owner of his own label because why tf not~

“Mr. Park, about these new designs-”

“Please schedule a meeting for it later, I’m going out today with an old friend.”

“Yes sir.”

Jimin made his way out of his office, grabbing his jacket and keys as he walked out the building. It was only recently that his clothing label had blown up and became popular. A sudden change of supply and demand had caused Jimin’s long work hours and tested his dedication. But, with the help of his faithful employees and friends, he was able to set his company on the right track.

Last night he had gotten a call from his old friend Jungkook. They hadn’t seen each other in months and Jimin was more than happy to go grab a coffee with him. As Jimin drove off to the coffee shop he had visited on more than one occasion he thought about Jungkook. What was he doing in his life? Did he have a girlfriend, or even maybe a wife? His thoughts were cut off as he parked and got out and walked to the entrance. There Jungkook was, on his phone standing next to the door, turning his head when he saw the familiar blond walking towards him.

“Hey! I haven’t seen you in so long, how are you?” Jungkook was quick to give Jimin a bone shattering hug. Jimin had to tap on his shoulder to get Jungkook to let him go.

“Jesus you’re so strong, you could’ve fucking cracked my spine.”

“Pff sorry,” Jungkook laughed before heading in the small shop, it smelt of coffee beans and vanilla. The two friends were quick to grab a table by the window.

“So, what have you been up to?” Jimin asked while he took his hat off, running a hand through his messy hair. He grabbed one of the small menus and began to look through them.

“Nothing much, to be honest...well actually I auditioned for a couple music companies but I haven’t heard back yet- but hey I see you’ve been doing good.” Jimin blushed slightly at Jungkook’s comment, hiding behind his menu and pretending to be very invested in the assortment of muffins the small shop had to offer.

“Yeah thanks, it’s been a long journey but it was worth it.” It was silent after that for a little bit, both boys looking for what they wanted to eat and drink.

And then there was you.

Jimin just happened to look towards the door when he heard the little jingle. You walked in with your headphones in and head down, looking at your phone. You went straight to the back so he assumed that you worked here.

“Hyung- order your food,” when you disappeared behind a door Jimin was brought back to reality. There was some lady standing in front of their table, pen in hand patiently waiting for Jimin to say something.

“Oh- um, sorry. I’ll have a strawberry muffin and an iced americano, thank you.” The waiter left without a word, going through the same door you had. So she does work here. Jimin hoped you would come out soon, he wanted to see you again with no particular reason as to why. Even after the waitress came back with their order, Jimin paid no mind, side eyeing the door, waiting for you.

“Dude are you okay? You’ve been looking at the door for like the past five minutes. Do you need to use the bathroom or something-”

“No that’s not it I-just- there was this girl and she went through that door, I’m waiting for her to come back out.”

“Ooohhh, who is she?”

“I literally have no clue.”

“Just go back there and look for her!”

“No why the hell would I-” someone somewhere had dropped something, the sound of glass shattering caught everyone’s attention, looking around the source. Surely enough, there in one of the booth’s there was a little boy looking down at the plate he just dropped. The mother immediately apologized for the mess and bent down to clean it up, but some waiter stopped her, telling her someone else would clean it up.

“Hey someone send Y/n out to come clean this up.” Jimin, who all but forgot about the incident went back to eating his muffin, feeling a small bit of pity for whoever was going to have to clean that mess up.

“I swear to fucking god I’m going to slap that little gremlin I hate kids I should have the little shit clean it himself.” You said, angrily holding a mop and a trashbag with you.

Jimin and Jungkook’s eyes grew wide as he heard what the waitress that passed them just said. Turning around in his seat to see who said that, he saw you, on the ground with an obviously fake smile, assuring the mother that it was okay. Jimin got out of his seat, which didn’t seem to bother Jungkook much, considering he was sitting there glued to his phone, and walked over to you, planning to offer some help.

“Hey, do you need help with that?” Jimin asked, smiling ever so slightly, he was obviously trying to charm you, but to his dismay it was not that easy.

“Nah I got it, thanks though.” You said without looking up at the man who had boots with a little too much heel. Once you realized the guy was not moving you looked up, ready to tell the dude to fuck off in the nicest way possible. But of course, it’s almost impossible to resist the Jimin effect.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Jimin asked again, this time with a small smirk.

“Yes I am perfectly capable of cleaning a mess up.” You said smiling a little before going back to picking up the pieces of glass. Despite your comment, Jimin still knelt down next to you and started picking up the glass.

“So, what’s your name?” Jimin asked, without looking at you. Despite his playboy reputation, he was actually quite shy.

“My name’s Y/n, and I believe you are Park Jimin, famous fashion designer and model.” Jimin honestly couldn’t hold back the surprised look on his face. Of course he knew he was famous, he knows that people know him. But for some reason, the fact that you know him gives him butterflies.

“What if I told you I wasn’t him?” Jimin decided to play with you a little bit, he was hoping he would be able to flirt with you and get your number.

“Then I’d say you look exactly like him and you should get a DNA test to make sure he isn’t your long lost twin.”

“Lucky for you, I am Jimin.”

“Oh wow I’m so lucky can I have your autograph,” You said sarcastically, picking up the rest of the glass and standing up. Jimin was quick to stand up next to you, he was a little taller than you but you suspected it was his heels.

“So about that autograph you asked for?” Jimin asked, laughing a bit as he held out his hand, as if waiting for you to give him a paper and pen. You rolled your eyes before handing him your notepad and pen. He smiled bright while writing on it before handing it back, after returning the notepad he walked back to his table where Jungkook was watching both of you with wide eyes without another word. Looking at the notepad you expected just his signature, but there was more.

Text me sometime (xxx-xxx-xxxx) - Park Jimin ;)

“JIMIN WHAT WAS THAT?!” Jungkook explained, eyes open wide and jaw dropped at what he just witnessed. This dude really just left his friend alone at their table to go flirt with some random girl.

“It was nothing mind your damn business,” Jimin said jokingly, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He was excited, the adrenaline was rushing and he really really hoped you wouldn’t reject him. “She seemed interested in me right?”

“Pfff, how am I supposed to know? I’m assuming you gave her your number so you’ll find out eventually.”

“Yeah you’re right,” Jimin said, looking around the shop for you but it seemed like you already went back into the kitchen. “C’mon let’s go. It was really good seeing you Jungkook, come visit me sometime.” With that they paid the bill, or more so Jimin made Jungkook pay the bill, and went separate ways. Right as he sat in his car, he got a message. Before grabbing his phone he assumed it was Jungkook and was about to scold him for texting while driving. But it was from an unfamiliar number.

[Message from (xxx-xxx-xxxx): Hey mr fancy park jimin i hope u know im going to sell your autograph on ebay :)]

___

y e e t I am a s i m p for this man

[emybain]

The Blessings of Parenthood

here’s my gift for @ruby-assassin for the renegades exchange (run by @ruby-assassin and @narcissacronin)! im not usually a procrastinator but i procrastinated a lot on this, so i apologize! im also not very good at writing any of my favorite characters as parents:( i hope you enjoy this! it’s a group of snippets of osby as parents that i randomly came up with. the first one is based off of a tiktok that had me dying with laughter, so i had to include it lol. 

ao3

Candy. This was because of candy. 

Ruby rubbed her temples with one hand as she got a glass from the cupboard and went over to the fridge to fill it up with ice. The usually obnoxious groaning and clattering of the ice machine was almost music to her ears, at least in comparison to the piercing screams not ten feet from her. She only glanced at her four year old daughter, who was a mess on the floor. Her face was red from sobbing and screaming, yet her cheeks were void of tears. Typical. Ruby sighed and popped off the cap to the vodka, pouring the appropriate amount for the occasion. 

The crying stopped. “Wha’re you doing?” Charlotte demanded. Ruby cracked open the soda can. “What are you doing?” Her voice became increasingly frustrated when her mother didn’t answer the first time. 

“Trying to survive, baby girl.” Ruby swirled her drink and took a sip, turning around to face her daughter. 

Lottie’s face scrunched up again, and she scrambled from the floor, stumbling over to Ruby to try and snatch the cup away. “Stooooop!” 

As if some supernatural being was truly looking out for her, there was the sound of doors closing and a car locking. They were back from the grocery store. Ruby set her cup down and picked up her dramatic little actress, who pushed away at Ruby.

“Let’s go help Daddy and the boys unload the car, yeah?” she said in an overly cheery voice. 

Lottie sniffled, though Ruby couldn’t detect any snot from her nose. Yep. Actress in the making. “Did-did they get candy?”

They did, Ruby knew, as she had shot Oscar a text twenty minutes ago before this whole tantrum erupted. “Well, if you help unload, you’ll see, won’t you, muffin?”

She finally stopped struggling in Ruby’s arms as Ruby opened up the screen door and walked out into the sunshine to greet her boys. Suddenly, Lottie was all too happy to see her father and her brothers. It was as though the past fifteen minutes had never happened. Ruby had to snort.

Children were truly an enigma.

_____

They could’ve been born yesterday, for all Ruby knew. 

She vividly remembered the day they came home from the hospital. Oscar had been a mess the entire ride home. Ruby had even offered to drive, seeing as she had been more composed than him. Somehow, they managed to make it back to their apartment at the time. It was a good apartment. Served its purpose and made a good home for a young married couple, but that was also before the triplets came along. 

Oscar was terrified that the dogs would be overwhelmed by the three additions to their family, but surprisingly, they took it well. More than well, actually. The labradors were fiercely protective over the babies and loved them more than anything. Even now, as they were surrounded by their family and extended, non-related family, the dogs, now old pups, sat behind the three siblings as everyone sang Happy Birthday. They were getting so big, practically grown ups. Charlotte was a vibrant ray of sunshine, in contrast to her moody toddler years. Andrew was a softie like his mother and an avid reader. Benjamin was like a mini-Oscar, acting just like him all the way down to the massive appetite. 

Ruby looked around the crowded patio. From her parents and brothers and their families to Oscar’s mother to all of their friends. So much had changed. Her twin brothers were both married and had kids, though they were younger than her own. Still, the cousins got along fine. Danna and Narcissa were recently married, just returning from their honeymoon in time for the birthday party. Nova and Adrian had been married for a couple years now. Their wedding had been the most down-low thing Ruby had ever seen. A courthouse ceremony followed by a friends and family gathering. They didn’t have kids, and Ruby doubted they would ever have any of their own based on Nova’s aversion to small children and their own personal reasons, but they were fostering an eight year old, Rose, who had been considered part of the family since the day she arrived. She could tell Nova was fond of her, especially since they had a lot in common. It made Ruby think of Nova’s sister, Maggie, who wasn’t with them for the party. Ruby never got to know the girl very well, but she was almost positive the two sisters kept in touch, despite their falling out years ago. 

The triplets blew out the candles on their individual small cakes. Everyone clapped. Yes, there was so much that was different now. And her babies, who she could’ve sworn she popped out just the other day, were growing up so fast. 

Ten was such a big number, after all. 

_____

“Ruby, let the kids win.” Oscar shifted himself inside their fort, pulling Ruby a bit closer to him where she sat between his legs. It was a rainy Saturday morning, and since the triplets couldn’t go outside like they normally would after breakfast, Ruby suggested they build a fort and spend the day in there. A couple hours later, their entire living room was covered in pillows and cushions and blankets and chairs from the dining room to hold everything up. After a quick text to Nova, they even figured out how to bring their TV into the fort without moving it or taping blankets to the wall over it. 

“I didn’t race you for years just to be beat by my own children.” Ruby scoffed. “If they want to win, they can learn just as I did.” 

The triplets all expressed their agreements, wanting to honestly beat their mother just so they could rub it in her face. Oscar chuckled and pressed a kiss to her temple. Ruby was in first, but just because she could, she let herself slow down a bit. Andy was in second, and shot past her. He stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry. 

“Won’t let them win, huh?” Oscar murmured, running a hand through her hair. Lottie and Benny soon passed her as well. She grinned even though she was facing away from him. Andy ended up winning, with Lottie in second, Benny in third, and Ruby in fourth. They hopped up from their mess of blankets to whoop and holler in success. 

“Guess Mom’s not so great anymore, is she?” Andrew did a little dance in front of his parents, even shaking his butt in their face. Ruby snorted and kicked him with her foot lightly enough to push him away.

“She’s gonna have to step up her game,” Lottie joined in, giggling. 

“My controller stopped working,” Ruby lied, pretending to be offended by their mocking. “You got lucky.”

Sweet, quiet Benny went against her too. “Maybe she should take lessons from Dad.”

Her mouth dropped open. The triplets laughed in response. “Oh, that’s it.” She pulled them toward her one by one, tickling their stomachs. Oscar joined in. Their fort began to shake a little and fall apart as the fight ensued, limbs being kicked every which way. 

“Hey, hey, hey, watch out for the coffee table!” Oscar yanked Lottie toward him, who almost hit her head against the furniture’s leg. His brow furrowed. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” 

She grinned at him, wriggling out of his hold. “I’m fine, Daddy.”

“This is why we don’t rough house in forts,” Ruby joked. She pushed her hair out of her face. “Look at the mess you made.” 

Simultaneously, she heard three stomachs growling as the kids protested, saying she and Oscar were just as guilty. She raised an eyebrow.

“How about you guys fix the fort, and I go make some lunch?”

“And then I can teach you guys all my secrets.” Oscar winked at their kids. “She’ll never admit it, but I used to beat her all of the time when we were younger.”

“Guess someone doesn’t want lunch.” Ruby crawled away from him and toward the entrance, halfway out when she felt his hand on her ankle. 

“You’re not going anywhere until you take that back,” he joked, following her out. She turned around and leaned over on her knees. His head was poking out of the little blanket entryway. The look he gave her, pleading yet mischievous, melted her. 

She bent down a little more to peck his lips; he reached a hand up and pulled her back by her neck. The two kisses he gave her were slightly deeper and full of smiles. 

“When I come back, it’s you against me.” She trailed a finger down his face and lowered her voice. “Winner chooses their prize.”

His eyes flashed. “It’s on.”

[satonthelotuspier]

I'm seeing prompts on your site and does that mean you are accepting them right now? I've never requested a prompt before and I don't know what to do? But if I'm doing it right I'd really like to see 13 for XueXiao from the bodyguard au prompt list? Fluffy or angsty, as you please. Am I doing this right?

OK so Im being obvious, but this contains XueXiao.

Modern Bodyguard AU so none of the complications of canon apply.

Now the disclaimers are out of the way, I have to apologise to the very patient @amaskinamirror bc this took so much longer to write than I expected. The reason being most of my prompt fics end up around the 1k-1.4k word mark and this kept going and kept going because there was a story there. It came in around the 4.5k work mark. Think of it as added value, unless you hate it in which case it’s not ;)

Pompts from this post here

Part 2 now available here

Xue Yang is the enfant terrible of the music world and his manager has pretty much had enough of his shitty behaviour. Features a thorny Xue Yang shaped by the worlds opinions of him, and a hardass yet caring Xiao Xingchen who maybe might just start to see beyond the lies.

Possible triggers/warnings: Also features swearing, man-handling, use of a date rape drug, minor injury and blood. Luckily XXC is there to save the day in all situations.

Xue Yang was woken up from a deep, no doubt alcohol-induced, sleep to the feeling of cold water being splashed in his face.

He shot upright coughing and spluttering and wiping water out of his eyes, trying to process what the hell had happened. The unconscious bodies around him all started to stir and groan back to lucidity.

Xue Yang followed the long line of the leg in front of him up to eventually meet a pair of dark eyes staring down at him without expression.

“What the fuck?” he demanded and tried to get up but someone he didn’t even remember the name of was laid across his legs.

It had been another party. One where they’d drunk hard and passed out before dawn some time; he didn’t know half the people here. That had never stopped him. Being the enfant terrible of the music industry took both time, effort and commitment.

The tall man bent down to extricate him, then yanked him to his feet.

“You have rehearsals in ninety minutes. Get showered, you smell like a brewery” a garment bag was pushed into his hands then he was waved in the direction of the hotel suite’s bathroom.

“Excuse me, but just who the fuck are you?” honestly his head felt a little woolly still from the after-effect of the alcohol he’d been drinking, but he was sure he didn’t know who this man was or what he was doing in his hotel suite.

“Your Fairy Godmother, Cinderella, now go get a shower, you’re wasting time”

Xue Yang grabbed hold of the collar of his jacket, “Don’t bullshit me”

The hand that clamped around his wrist was steel-like, “Your new security. Your manager sends his regards. I won’t tell you to go and shower again”

“Firstly, if you are security you are not my boss, so you can stop with the ordering me around like I’m your little bitch, secondly, you are my security? I’m sure if a duckling gets too close you’ll do a great job, otherwise…” he was going to push the other away, sure because of his willowy frame it would be easy. Quite how he ended up in an armlock and being dragged to the bathroom he didn’t know. He bit his tongue to stifle the cry of pain; no way would he utter the noise aloud. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he snarled as the other kept going into the bathroom.

“I’ve already explained. I’m not going to repeat myself” the man opened the shower door, pushed Xue Yang into the cubicle and pushed the on button.

Of course Xue Yang never learned his lesson; he launched himself at the other only to bounce off the cubicle door as the other shut it behind him, holding it closed.

“New world order, xiao-Xue, get used to being my little bitch” the other grinned as Xue Yang punched the glass then yelled at the pain in his hand, “Clean up, I don’t want to be forced to come in there and clean you up myself”

***

Xue Yang curled himself up as small as possible on the back seat of the car; he was in high sulk. After calling his manager to demand an explanation of what was going on Jin Guangyao had told him in no uncertain terms he’d better get used to the idea of Xiao Xingchen being around. His new security was not only there to provide for his personal safety after a spate of disturbing mail (more disturbing than the usual run of the mill threats at least), but to whip him into some kind of shape as Jin Guangyao was convinced his terrible behaviour, bad reputation and general personality was about to lose them some very large contracts.

Everyone loved a bad boy in theory, but when it began to affect his ability to make his management company money then they were definitely going to act to protect their asset.

And that had come in the form of Xiao Xingchen, who looked as gentle and fragile as an orchid but who had already handed Xue Yang his ass once today already.

“A-Qing, I need breakfast” Xue Yang whined at his assistant as his stomach rumbled for the fourth time.

“You shouldn’t have upset the new bodyguard then” she mocked him quietly, and he retreated even more, pulling the hood of his jacket up and wrapping his arms around his knees as A-Qing took pity on him and leaned forward to ask the driver to stop at a nearby coffee shop.

They did, and A-Qing and the driver returned with coffees for all and a bag full of muffins.

Lao-Xia, the driver, and A-Qing had been with Xue Yang long enough to not meet his gaze as they started on their own food; Xiao Xingchen had no such warning; he was too busy goggling at Xue Yang who had made his own muffin disappear like a magician with a rabbit.

“Are you going to eat that?” Xue Yang asked, pointing at the baked bun in Xiao Xingchen’s hand.

He simply offered it over; perhaps surprised at the demonstration of the speed at which a muffin could be demolished without trace.

The second one followed the first in quick order and Xue Yang froze as the other reached  over to brush the crumbs that had stuck to the corner of his mouth away with a thumb.

“You don’t want the Paparazzi to catch that” he said simply before turning in his seat to look out of the windscreen and sip at his coffee.

Xue Yang curled back in on himself and held his ridiculously sweet iced coffee to his chest.

“You eat too much sugar” Xiao Xingchen told him as Lao-Xia started the car and set off driving to the studio, “You need something to give you energy for the first meal of the day”

“Good luck with that, he functions on pure sugar and supplements” A-Qing mocked and Xue Yang shot her an annoyed look.

***

Xue Yang didn’t know why he was surprised the next morning when he was awoken by a solid shake to the shoulder.

He hadn’t been able to avoid the other to sneak off to party last night so he wasn’t hung over but that didn’t mean he was any more amenable to the idea of waking up.

“Come on Sleeping Beauty, you have to be at your first interview in an hour”

Interviews. His mortal enemy. The thing he hated most in the world. And he was still no better at dealing with them than he had been as a fresh face on the music scene, where the press had crucified him, thrown every painful fact of his past in his face and then painted him as a troubled bad boy with a temper; a role he’d eventually just given up fighting against and embraced.

He threw the blankets over his head; maybe if he just went back to sleep the interview would disappear.

The blankets were thrown back.

“Dude, what the fuck?” he demanded, was he allowed no privacy at all anymore?

“Get up” Xiao Xingchen jerked his head towards the bathroom.

“Fuck off. I’m not going” he reached out to push the other away.

It went about as well as yesterday had for him; he ended up face down on the bed with his arm locked up between his shoulder blades.

“Are you going to learn any time soon? I mean, kudos for persistence but lose points for stupidity. Now, last chance to get up on your own, otherwise I’ll throw you over my shoulder and you can go dressed like that”

Xue Yang wasn’t sure he believed the other was strong enough to actually carry him out of the hotel room, but he daren’t take the chance he might be dragged out kicking and screaming and dressed in his ratty old t-shirt and shorts.

“Fine, yes, I’m getting up. Let me go, please” as a street child he’d learned to beg prettily and it wasn’t a skill he was averse to using if he needed to, to survive. It didn’t need to be sincere, it just needed to sound it, to be calculated to pull on the other’s heart strings.

It didn’t seem to affect Xiao Xingchen, but he was released nonetheless.

***

Xue Yang of course arrived on time for his first interview, (there were three in total scheduled for today), as far as they went it wasn’t particularly gruelling for him, but he was fully aware he was a mess by the end of it; he’d probably come across like he was on drugs, but it wasn’t like that would be the first, second or third time the rumour would circulate in relation to him.

He knew Xiao Xingchen eyed him in consideration, but he ignored it; he didn’t have the presence of mind to survive the next two interviews and worry about what his new security agent was judging him for today.

He was much worse by the end of the second; he had been left alone a sitting room of the hotel the interview’s had been arranged at and he lowered his head into his hands, trying to even out his breathing and calm himself. His professionalism would be questioned even further if he failed to complete the last interview, or screwed up during it.

He felt the couch dip next to him, “Here” he looked up, poison on his tongue ready to be spit at Xiao Xingchen when he realised the other held out one of those large chocolate chip cookies in a napkin. There was also iced coffee sat on the table in front of him.

“Just relax, empty your head, and focus on the cookie” Xiao Xingchen informed him; raising an eyebrow as Xue Yang didn’t immediately accept the confectionery from him.

He took it with tentative thanks; and it vanished almost immediately once he’d decided to accept the gesture. Once he’d gotten the sugary coffee inside him too he felt much better.

***

Despite his trash reputation he wasn’t late for a single appointment over the next weeks; Jin Guangyao assured him it was perfectly alright to project the rebel for the masses but when you played the brat with the people in the business you’d soon be blacklisted; a risk he wasn’t willing to take with Xue Yang.

Xue Yang hadn’t managed to get near alcohol or a party in that time due to Xiao Xingchen’s hawk eyes and iron control.

Since the second morning though instead of being woken up with a bucket of water to the face or bickering the other had started showing up with a sweet pastry and a staggeringly sugary iced coffee which he traded off for Xue Yang eating better at other mealtimes.

Overall it didn’t seem Xue Yang had a moment of time where the other wasn’t somewhere close, controlling everything, keeping a watchful eye out.

And it bothered Xue Yang; he didn’t get used to the feeling of Xiao Xingchen being there like he’d been assured he would. He was still hyper aware of him, and he didn’t necessarily think it was because he was intimidated, despite the fact they’d had a few more altercations, none of which ended well for Xue Yang.

***

He tried to ditch his new security for his monthly visit to the orphanage his charity had built and ran; the less people who knew about it the better. Of course he couldn’t shake the other off so he had to attend followed by Xiao Xingchen, and explain to the children who the tall ge was. He was a great hit with them, and although Xue Yang pretended to be annoyed at Xiao Xingchen getting all the attention that the youngsters usually showered on him secretly he was entertained as he watched the other romp with the rough kids, or play softly with the quieter ones.

“This is the first time you’ve brought a bodyguard” he turned slightly at the sound of Tian Ying, the matron of the orphanage and the woman who’d helped bring him up in a similar institution when he had been a boy had come up beside him. “Are you in danger, xiao-Xue?”

“Of course not” he didn’t consider the crazy mail Jin Guangyao was filtering from him any more of a threat than any of the other mail he’d received in the last few years, and he definitely didn’t want her to worry about him, “They just decided I needed someone to carry my bags for me”

He didn’t have time to say much more as he was dragged into an impromptu game of football in the yard, where he and Xiao Xingchen were on opposite teams.

They played around half-heartedly until a Xiao Xingchen who was grace incarnate except apparently on a football pitch, stuck his foot out and took Xue Yang’s feet from under him and he tumbled. The fall itself wasn’t bad but he was a little grazed as they played on the yard and not grass.

Xiao Xingchen was unusually all apologies and personally saw to tending the grazes Xue Yang’s tumble had caused, despite his assurances he was absolutely fine. The touch of the other still made his pulse flutter in some odd emotion and the way Xiao Xingchen kept glancing up at him, like he’d discovered a rare and new species, was disconcerting. And pissed him off, because he could guess what it was about.

“Just don’t” he said through his teeth so no one around them could hear.

“Don’t what? Congratulate you on what you’ve built here? On what you’re doing for these kids?”

“Yes, don’t. I don’t want to hear it” he sucked a breath in at the sting of the antiseptic where Xiao Xingchen applied it to his grazes.

“Alright, whatever you want” Xiao Xingchen let it drop but he still looked at Xue Yang with something approaching admiration in his eyes.

And it was addictive, to have someone look at him like that, and not like he was trash. But then it had never bothered him before. Was it purely because it was Xiao Xingchen and he wanted to be more than trash in that man’s eyes?

“I guess you read too many gossip rags” Xue Yang sniped, “I’m not on drugs, in any weird cults, or a complete slut either”

Instead of bullshitting him and denying he’d thought anything of the kind Xiao Xingchen agreed instead, “I’m beginning to see that. Of course that doesn’t mean you don’t have a vile temper, that you don’t ever learn your lessons, or that you don’t sulk like a baby when I tell you no”

He was about to make one of his usual responses when the game of football moved closer and he clamped his lips closed on the curse.

There was a knowing, teasing look in the other’s eyes and as Xue Yang looked down into that finely-boned face he realised why the other’s good opinion had meant so much to him; why he was on tenterhooks whenever Xiao Xingchen was near, which was all the time at the moment, and why his pulse fluttered like his veins were full of butterflies whenever the other touched him. He was in love with Xiao Xingchen.

Well fuck.

***

Xue Yang paced around his hotel bedroom, feeling like a caged tiger. He wanted to destroy something. No, he really wanted a stiff drink.

Was he a masochist? What had made him fall in love with a man who knocked him around for fun? No of course that was unfair, Xiao Xingchen only ever restrained him and only when Xue Yang attacked first. Still, it must definitely be masochism.

Or Stockholm Syndrome; he had been at the mercy of the other, a virtual prisoner, for weeks now.

“I need a drink” he exclaimed aloud; and so he formulated a plan.

He took a quick shower and changed into something black and sexy and flashy, then he he called reception and asked for a taxi cab, and that they ring up to let him know when it had arrived.

He waited by his bedroom door, peeping through the tiniest opening for the phone to ring back; and as Xiao Xingchen got up from the couch to answer it he dashed out and past as silently as possible to give himself as much of a head-start as he could manage.

The doors of the elevator were closing just as he saw Xiao Xingchen enter the hallway and yell at him in rage.

He was in the taxi and away; his freedom all the sweeter for being carefully wrought.

***

Xue Yang was beginning to feel pleasantly buzzed and he was chatting quite happily with the guy who stood next to him at the bar of the VIP lounge. He’d been greeted by the usual crowd who hadn’t seen him around for the weeks he’d been kept prisoner, (OK maybe that was a little dramatic), but he’d never seen this guy before and new people were interesting.

Although he was beginning to get uncomfortable at how the other stared at him intently after he’d finished his drink.

He excused himself to “visit the bathroom” when life finally caught up with him. Life of course being Xiao Xingchen.

He pushed Xue Yang up against the wall of the corridor to the bathrooms, which was surprisingly currently empty.

“Hey” Xue Yang protested, although with alcohol relaxing his muscles it hadn’t really hurt as he hadn’t tensed for impact. Actually being pinned against the wall by the man you’d fallen in love with was quite nice. He had zero experience, bar some awkward kisses with a girl who’d known as little as him when he was younger, but apparently being manhandled was beginning to be something he enjoyed. Maybe because it was Xiao Xingchen though.

“I’d advise you to keep really quiet, I’m this close to spanking the living hell out of you” and really he’d never seen Xiao Xingchen’s deceptively delicate face so twisted in anger.

But of course alcohol impaired one’s judgement; to dangerous levels sometimes.

“Is that what you like?” he asked.

“What?” Xiao Xingchen was confused, his hand tightened on Xue Yang’s collar as if he suspected the other was planning something.

“Spanking, do you get off on it?”

“You really have no fucking self-preservation instincts do you?” Xiao Xingchen demanded and if Xue Yang hadn’t been so muddled due to the reaction of his body to the other, and the alcohol humming through his bloodstream he might have realised how much trouble he was in; he had never heard the other curse before in all their weeks together.

Instead he gave in to the urge pounding at the base of his brain, unable to control it anymore. He threw his arms around Xiao Xingchen’s neck and kissed him.

Well, it was clumsy and unskilled, but it probably still counted as a kiss.

He was pushed back against the wall unceremoniously, “What do you think you’re doing? You are my client. You are drunk. You are so out of line right now”

Of course he hadn’t really expected a different response. He somehow managed to pull himself free and stumbled back out into the VIP lounge.

Actually he seemed to be more drunk than he’d realised. He was suddenly barely able to control his body and he felt like his head was full of cotton wool. A hand touched his back, “Oh, you look terrible. Do you need to lie down? Should we get you out of here?” he was vaguely aware the voice wasn’t Xiao Xingchen’s, it belonged to the guy he’d been talking to at the bar, as he was guided towards the door but he really did need to lie down right now. He was about to nod his agreement when the supporting hand was violently removed.

“What the fuck did you give him?” that was Xiao Xingchen, although he couldn’t work out what the question meant. He felt the iron-grip of his security’s hand and he was pulled close to the other; he recognised the familiar scent of his aftershave and it set his mind at rest.

***

It had been days since the nightclub incident; and he’d managed to act completely clueless about the entire evening. In honesty there were huge swathes of Xue Yang’s memory that were completely blank, but he was cursed with vague recollection of him kissing Xiao Xingchen.

He wanted to die from embarrassment. He wanted to mope around at the rejection. He had to pretend like he was completely clueless about everything that happened though and let the other just write it off as a side effect of the Flunitrazepam the random guy at the nightclub had put in his drink.

He had been in touch with Jin Guangyao and begged the other to find him new security. He couldn’t carry on being around Xiao Xingchen all the time, feeling like he did, and scared to death he’d do something stupid to reveal his feelings in a way that couldn’t be pretended away like that stupid kiss.

He had faithfully promised he’d keep up the good behaviour Xiao Xingchen had bullied into him so long as Jin Guangyao replaced him with someone who wouldn’t cause Xue Yang such pain to have close.

His manager had promised to at least look into it.

Xue Yang didn’t realise he’d been wool-gathering in his head and managed to separate slightly from Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing until he saw a face in the crowd that made him uncomfortable.

He didn’t recognise the man but the fear that skittered down his spine was very real; he turned to try and get closer to Xiao Xingchen who called his name and dashed over; the flash he caught from the corner of his eye had him raising his arm in self-protection. He was dragged out of the way and thrown to the floor, catching nothing but a glancing blow as Xiao Xingchen took out the threat.

It was all very chaotic after that as the crowd helped keep the attacker captive until the police could arrive, and ambulance was also called as both he and Xiao Xingchen had taken knife wounds.

His was a cut to the arm that didn’t particularly bother him, it was the wound on Xiao Xingchen’s side that scared the life out of him. He used his folded jacket to keep pressure on the injury.

A-Qing fluttered around trying to get him to let someone else take over so they could do the same for his arm but he just waved her off; it was nothing.

“You really have no fucking self-preservation instincts” Xiao Xingchen told him in annoyance; luckily he seemed fully conscious at the moment.

“I know. I‘m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll be better from now on” he felt close to tears but fought them back brutally.

Xiao Xingchen nodded at what he said and looked into his eyes, “At least you’ll get your new bodyguard now, silver linings right?” he reached out with his left hand to thumb away one of the tears that Xue Yang hadn’t realised had escaped.

Fucking Jin Guangyao and his stupid big mouth.

“It’s for the best, xiao-Xue, in light of everything”

Which meant Xiao Xingchen was aware of his feelings and agreed the best way to deal with it was to move on. Well there went his dignity.

“You’re too precious for this cruel world in the limelight, anyway” Xue Yang tried to mock, his voice a little strangled.

“Which of us do you mean?” Xiao Xingchen asked and it was both an arrow to his heart and salve to his ego to hear such an opinion from the other.

He was glad when the paramedics had arrived and he was shuffled away to have his own wound dealt with so he could save some face. If the paramedic thought the tears were a reaction to the pain or shock of being attacked then good.

They were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated. Xue Yang’s cut needed a few stitches so he was ready to be sent away reasonably quickly, but he stayed in the waiting room until A-Qing came back to report Xiao Xingchen was fine, he’d be kept in for a few days as his would was deeper and nastier but he was stable and in no danger.

“Aren’t you going to visit before we go?” she asked, but he shook his head. And honestly she was smart enough that she probably knew what was going on and why he didn’t want to impose on the other. “Alright, lets get you back to the hotel. I think Jin Guangyao will be waiting, unfortunately, I can’t do anything to put him off this time”

Xue Yang sighed and accepted his fate.

One Month Later

The stage lights faded for the last time and he was finally able to slip offstage. He was lathered with sweat and completely exhausted. Xue Yang’s knife wound hadn’t been particularly deep or damaging but it was surprising how much it had knocked him down. He still tired out so much more easily than he was used to, but he hadn’t wanted to put this concert off, preferring to get it out of the way so he could take a holiday for a couple of weeks and use it to think about the next steps in his career, and indeed life, with nothing hanging over his head.

The man who had attacked them had been the same who had drugged his drink in the nightclub, although due to the effects Xue Yang couldn’t identify him; it had been lucky his subconscious had reacted to the man though, or it could have been so much worse.

He accepted the towel A-Qing held out for him as he met his entourage in the back stage passages and dried off, pulling on the coat she had also brought him.

There was an oddly smug look on her face and he questioned her.

“Nothing, just something funny is all” she refused to be drawn on what caused her to smile so.

They made it back to the dressing rooms and he was bundled inside.

He wondered, uncharitably, if she was on drugs.

“No rush, your car won’t be here for quite some time yet” A-Qing told him as she shut the door behind him and he turned to find his street clothes. Except he wasn’t alone.

Oh.

Suddenly he daren’t move from the doorway, not sure whether to tear it open and flee or move into the room and act like he wasn’t bothered in the slightest.

In the end he compromised, did nothing and stayed exactly where he was.

“Why are you here?” he tried to keep his voice steady, and luckily it didn’t shake too much.

“Why do you think?” Xiao Xingchen asked him.